


Clues In Death

by QueenMaire, RooBear68



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha Castiel, Alpha Castiel/Omega Dean Winchester, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Bottom Dean Winchester, Businessman Castiel, Cas in suits, Dean in Panties, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fashion Designer Sam, Knotting, M/M, Married Castiel/Dean Winchester, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Murder Mystery, Omega Dean, Oral Sex, Past Abuse, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse, Police Officer Dean Winchester, Popstar Gabriel, Rimming, Russian Castiel, Scent Marking, Scenting, Sex therapist Benny, Top Cas, True Mates, heat/rut sex, more tags to come, past trauma, tagging is hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2020-04-05 02:48:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 22
Words: 70,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19039630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenMaire/pseuds/QueenMaire, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RooBear68/pseuds/RooBear68
Summary: Lieutenant Dean Winchester was celebrating his 5th wedding anniversary with his Alpha and their friends when he's called away to investigate a murder.Nothing new there since he was a Homicide Lieutenant, but what was new was that the victim had a note pinned on her body personally addressed to him.He knew he wasn't gonna be able to keep Cas, his mate, away from the investigation, especially after a second victim is found.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello *waves*  
> Welcome to my newest wip.  
> I'm so excited for this story, I've never written a murder mystery abo before.  
> This story is based/inspired by the In Death series by one of my fave authors, JD Robb.  
> I have made it my own but have used things from the wonderful world she has created.  
> I hope you enjoy reading this and Queen and I Adore comments.  
> Also please note that Dean and Cas have had very traumatic pasts and I will warn at the beginning of chapters when their past is being discussed.  
> <3<3 Roo
> 
> I forgot to mention, thank you Michelle, that this story is set in the future, 2054 to be exact.
> 
>  
> 
> Maire, here: I just want to say that Roo is the main author, here. She sends me the chapter and I edit and fuss and add stuff. Sometimes I exchange a word, and sometimes I rewrite whole paragraphs. But the basic story is hers. So, even though I am listed as "author" I am more a contributor. Roo hasn't hated or erased anything I've changed or written, so we seem to make a pretty good team. It is a lot of fun working with her.

 

 

 

 

Dean snarled as he slammed the door closed on the black and white that dropped him off at his door. He was a “fucking Homicide Lieutenant for Christ sakes!” and he deserved a better car, one that wouldn’t drop a transmission every time he tried to use the air-born feature. It pissed him off when his car didn’t perform, especially since the " _powers that be_ " clearly stated that he was not allowed to work on his own car. Fuckers.

Opening the door, muttering to himself that he wouldn’t have these issues if he were allowed to use Baby for work, but no, stupid powers that be. Immediately when he came through the door two things happened, one good and one horrible. The good thing was Rufus, who came to wind his fat body between Dean’s ankles looking for an ear rub. 

“You really are getting fat there, Rufus. I think Cas needs to buy you a treadmill.” He laughed to himself as he squatted down to give the ear scratches that the orange bully was demanding. “Where’s Cas, furball?”

“He’s in the master bedroom and you’re late!” Crowley snarked from behind him. Yeah, there was the horrible thing that was waiting for him when he came home.

“I’m not that late, Crowley," he growled to the older, alpha house-manager who was more of a guardian (or in Russian, it sounded like op-e-cone). Dean was trying so damn _hard_ to learn his alpha's native tongue and while Cas spoke English **perfectly** , Dean was not having as much luck with his Russian. He refused to look at his watch to see exactly how late he was, because  no way was he giving his nemesis the satisfaction.

Before he could get into a pissing contest with the bane of his home, he draped his jacket over the bannister (knowing that it drove Crowley up the wall, which was why he did it) and jogged up the stairs with his fat cat following him, hoping for a treat from the AutoChef in the bedroom. Dean stopped just outside the doorway when he heard Cas talking on the phone. He wasn't necessarily eavesdropping,  but he didn't want to interrupt and if he were to hear anything about their upcoming vacation (Cas _knew_ he hated surprises but insisted!) then all the better.

"No, no worries. I will get him on the shuttle, it just takes a bit of work. A soother along with a few orgasms will help him enjoy the flight, besides, we'll only be in the air for about 6 hours." While the words coming out of his alpha's mouth were pissing him the fuck off, the cadence of the words were causing a more triggering response in his cock.

Deciding on going with the pissed off emotions (he'd rock Cas' world later) Dean stomped into the bedroom only to be met with a smirking Cas, who was _not_ on the phone but setting a trap for a nosey Dean. Son of a bitch.

"Hello, Darling Dean. How was your day?" So yeah, his mate was the epitome of every omega's fantasy of an _alpha's_ alpha, but Dean was going to control himself, damn it.

"I need you to build me a bomb," he snarked as he walked to the closet, shedding his clothes on his way.

"Excuse me?" He could hear Cas getting closer and just knew he was picking up after him on his way.

Peeking out of the closet, Dean raised one eyebrow along with one side of his mouth to look his mate up and down before responding. "I _know_ you know how to do it, Alpha." He knew that he was stroking his mate's ego, but that was all he had time to stroke at the moment. Damn it, he had really run behind but he'd chop of his right foot before admitting it.

"I refuse to answer that without my lawyer present, but let's say _hypothetically,_ if I were to build you a bomb, what are we going to make 'go boom?'" Dean snorted at the sarcasm that was dripping from Cas' mouth.

"The assholes down at Vehicle Maintenance. My car actually said 'no' when I went to switch to air-born so I could try and catch up with Bobby. I was going to help him gather some evidence on his cyber-stalking case and because of my car shitting on me **again** he ended up being at the vic's apartment alone when the perp showed up. That ass got enough of a drop of Bobby that he was able to get one shot off, hitting Bobby in the leg." He wasn't even trying to keep the anger and worry from his scent, so he wasn't surprised to feel Cas wrap his arms around his waist.

"Bobby is fine. I just left him at home with Karen fussing over him. It was a scratch. Hell, he only needed twelve stitches,  but ya' know..." he trailed off after turning so he could bury his face in Cas' neck. He had held up through the rush to the hospital after getting the call once he was in a black and white on his way to the vic's apartment, but now that he was _home_ (his safe place with Cas) he would allow himself a moment to gather strength from his mate.

"I know, Darling. Bobby is, well, Bobby.  He's your father figure, and he stands for all the things we both wish we had had from our own." Dean could only hiccup his agreement, knowing that if he actually tried to say words they'd just come out as sobs. So he allowed himself a moment, then he stepped back and shook it off. Literally.

"OK, so, Crowley has already crawled up my ass since I was late. I need to give Rufus a damn treat before he trips us both." He glared down at the orange tub-o-lard who was head-butting them both in the ankles. "Then I need to get in the shower. I'm assuming you've already picked out my outfit for the dinner?" Dean dropped his black, lace boy-shorts on the closet floor (totally slicking a bit at the growl Cas let out) before strutting towards the bathroom, only barely remembering to stop at the AutoChef to program some salmon flavored, fish shaped, nasty-af smelly treats for Rufus. Say what he would about Crowley (and he _would_!), the man kept the AutoChef filled with yummy food for all of them.

"Of course I have. If I didn't, you'd show up to our party in jeans and flannel." He strutted a bit more hearing how deep Cas' voice got when he was turned on.

Turning, Dean poked his mate in the chest. "There's nothing wrong with jeans and flannel!" Then he leaned in to nip at the bottom lip that drove him to distraction.

"Agreed, but there's a time and a place. For instance, work: work is a time and place for jeans and flannel. An anniversary party with one hundred of our nearest and dearest is not." Dean stopped dead in his tracks before slowly facing Cas, who was conveniently _not_ looking at Dean,  but at Rufus.

" _One hundred_ ?" He knew his voice went about three octaves higher than normal. "We don't _....I_ don't know that many people!"

"Yes, Dean. We do. Now, do you want a soother after your shower?" He could feel his head nodding yes before Cas even stopped talking.

Dean generally hated taking soothers but he could acknowledge there were certain times they came in handy. When he had to face a hundred people for dinner (seriously it was all Cas' fault that Dean had let so many people in!) or when he had to fly he needed them. He understood they were safe, medically approved, and everyone took them occasionally, blah blah blah blah blah. He still thought it made him look weak but right now, he didn't give a flying fuck, and he was taking it.

 

 

He stepped into the shower, dunking his head under one of the four, rain-shower heads to drown out the panicked voice in his head that was screaming about having to _socialize_ with so many damn people. He snickered upon hearing his alpha speaking Russian to their cat, no doubt telling him he was going to put him on a diet, all the while feeding him snacks.

It still amazed Dean that Cas had fallen for him, Truemates or not. The alpha was beautiful with dark messy hair (looked like he just had his face _fucked_ for hours) and ice blue eyes that were their warmest when they looked at Dean. Cas also had the fullest, pouty lips that constantly tempted him and a jaw that Dean could never stop nibbling on. It was sharp enough to draw blood.

Dean could feel his cock plumping as he continued to think about his alpha, especially since his thoughts were now on his body, and _damn_ was it a good body! He had shoulders that Dean knew held the responsibility of employing thousands but were a soft place where he could lay his head when he was tired and arms that were strong enough to hold him against the wall as they fucked like bunnies, or soft enough to rock him to sleep when he was overwhelmed. Which, in his line of work was fairly often, but he kept his melt downs for home. At work he was in charge; the one on whom the others leaned.

Grabbing for the shampoo, the one Cas had made for them which was a combination of their scents (apples and honey for Dean with whiskey and thunder for Cas) named Apple Storms, he continued his imagery of his alpha's body.

Cas' chest was something that belonged on those omega, romance, trash novels he used to read before bed (don't judge, he had been alone for years before meeting Cas) that they sold in line at the grocery store. Muscles that were defined but not obnoxiously so. Peach colored, sensitive nipples that were oh, so biteable and just below were the abs of someone who took care of themselves to stay strong, but not to show off.

One of Dean's favorite things about his alpha's body (hehehe, yeah one of many) were Cas' hip bones. They stood out so sharply and he loved marking them with his mouth and teeth. Poor guy usually looked like he lost a round with a vampire, but Dean was careful to only mark him where his fancy suits would cover, unless they were on vacation, then all skin was fair play. Cas gave as good as he got, though, and Dean loved it.

Telling his cock to knock it off and that there wasn't time to play, he hurried through the rest of his shower knowing he had already wasted time that he couldn't spare already. He told it (yes he talked to his cock) that he would continue his exploration of Cas' body in reality after the party.

After drying off and getting his hair to spike up just the way he liked, he took the soother shot that Cas had left on the bathroom counter. It was chocolate flavored ( _yummy_ ) because his alpha knew how to make everything easier for him down to the flavor he could swallow the easiest.  Dean walked back into the bedroom to see what Cas had laid out for him to wear. At least the party seemed to be a bit more casual than he had thought it was going to be, considering Cas had laid out his black skinny jeans (his alpha really liked his ass in these) along with a deep red, button-up shirt. The one that matched Cas' waistcoat. The man did have good taste in clothing. Hell, in most things Cas made the right decisions. Sometimes Dean even believed that he was one of them, just depended on the day, but regardless the handsome, loving alpha was his for life.

Seeing his alpha walk towards him with a jewel box, Dean knew he was about to be draped in expensive, sparkly crap he's always afraid he'll lose. Cas told him it wouldn't be a tragedy if he did, so Dean wore it when his mate asked.

"So, how many sparkles are you going to put on me tonight?" he asked with a hand on his hip and a smirk on his mouth.

"Just a few bits and bobs," was the answer he got as Cas handed him a silver chain that had small diamonds woven into the complex design. Next was his _fancy_ wrist communicator. It worked exactly like his everyday one, since he could do anything and everything on the small computer/phone units. This one was just covered in diamonds and emeralds.

When Cas began unwinding the last piece Dean threw his head back laughing. "Really, Alpha? Everyone at this party knows I'm yours." He stepped up to wrap his hands around the man's waist, kissing the mating bite he had left there almost five years ago. He could smell the embarrassment just under the pride coming from Cas' scent gland.

"I just think that it goes well with your outfit," was all he said as he began threading the longer, delicate, diamond chains through the belt loops on Dean's jeans. He would never _say_ just how much he liked getting dolled up for his alpha (he knew his scent gave him away) and he never would.

"Hmmm....really? Well, I suppose that's true. Diamonds go with everything, but what about the 'Castiel' that's engraved on every inch of the chain?" He knew he was calling his alpha on his possessive behavior, but he didn't feel guilty at all since Cas called him out for his own.

"Alright, Alpha. Never mind. I'll wear the belt of stones if you wear yours that has my name all over you." Dean could instantly smell the dark tint to Cas' scent that told him he was just a minute or two from getting knotted over the bedroom couch.

"Omega...." Cas growled out.

"Yeah, I know, Cas. We gotta go, so let's leave this for later but I _would_ like it if you wore your belt too. Please." he had taken a slow step back to let Cas clear his nose of their scents.

"Of course, Dean. Will you get my belt then meet me on the balcony? I need a moment." He watched the alpha walk out into the evening air admiring his ass the whole way out.

  


 

About an hour later found them walking into the private dining room of one of the finest Italian restaurants in the city. They had their first date there six years ago, a week before they mated and a year before they were married. Dean remembered being so on edge during that date, not just because Cas was the sexiest mother fucker he had ever seen (let alone how sexy he _smelled_ ) but there was the fact that the alpha had been a suspect in a murder investigation. Luckily he and his partner, Jo, had cleared Cas quickly, and he had ended up saving them both from the actual murderer

Dean came out of his memories when he felt Cas grasp his hand, stopping him from twisting his wedding band which was a nervous habit of his. Seeing the worry in his alpha's eyes he leaned in to kiss him on the tip of the nose. He had learned to live with the fact that his mate was not always on the same side of the law as Dean but he knew that Cas only used his _gifts_ for good now.

The alpha no longer had to steal to live, because his business empire was worth billions, and while it took a long time for him to get comfortable with the way Cas spoiled him, Dean was now able to enjoy using _their_ money to do romantic things for Cas. He would use the money he earned from the state of New York first, but he now had no issues with using his card to access their joint account.

Kissing his alpha again, this time on those plump, biteable lips, he pulled him towards the private dining room, knowing that their friends were waiting for them. Dean was still amazed that he knew that many people (let alone cared for them) but it was just another product of opening himself to love, even if he had days where he still felt unworthy of it.

Several hours later, along with _several_ whiskeys (only after Cas assured him he was carrying some Sober Up since he was on call), Dean was enjoying himself. He had **mingled** by God, and now he was sitting at his table, letting others come to him. He was watching his mate dance with his office manager, Missouri. The woman had scared him to death before she had kidnapped him for a lunch date a few days after he and Cas had mated.

At the time he was petrified that people would think that he was only after Cas' money, but he had been pleasantly surprised that everyone accepted that they were Truemates. At lunch the first thing Missouri said to him was that he was the only one who thought he wasn't good enough for Castiel and he needed to get over it before she whupped him. She had been his mother figure ever since.

"Damn, I think I'm drunk." He turned to see his partner, Jo, plop down in the chair next to him looking a bit green around her face.

"You need some food. Here ya' lightweight." Dean pushed a plate of bruschetta towards her.

Watching her eat, he realized he was really feeling sentimental, either from all the love or the whiskey. Probably the drink, since the love and mushy stuff everyone kept saying to him over the course of the night just made him a bit uncomfortable. He had trouble doing more than hold Cas' hand in public and that was with his mate! Being hugged and told how perfect he and Cas were just made him feel uncomfortable. Especially since his co-workers and boss were here, too.

Dean could remember when he met Jo, over a dead body. She had still been in uniform then and he had given her a chance to prove herself and she went above and beyond. He took a chance once the case was over and pulled her in to be his assistant. Dean had never taken anyone under his wing before and it was one of the best decisions he ever made, professionally or personally. Not only had Jo become his partner after she had passed her Detective Testing, but she had become a good friend.

He had not expected for Jo to fall for a detective in the Cyber Unit, one of Bobby's _boys_ (male or female they were Bobby's boys). Charlie was a flamboyant, free spirit, genius level detective that was the perfect alpha fit to Jo's stoic omega tendencies, although she could cut loose when she was just around friends. They were a lot alike, Jo and Dean.

Charlie was on the dance floor trying to get everyone to do the hustle, which was a sight to see. Cas was motioning for Dean to come join him, but hells-to-the-no on that. No way was he drunk enough to make a fool of himself in front of Commander Novak. Dean swiveled his head around (slowly since it was kinda spinning anyways) only to find his Commander on the dance floor dancing with his wife, Hannah. Man, that woman scared the crap outta him most days. Looking to the left of them he spotted someone who scared him even more, but only because everytime she had a drop or twelve she would wax poetic about his alpha and his brother. Eww. Commissioner Shurley's wife, Becky, was just plain odd.

Just as he thought of him, he spotted his brother, Sam, on the dance floor standing still and letting his omega (Dean's bestie), Gabriel, spin around him. Gabe was, of course, wearing one of Sam's designs (as was Dean) that barely covered his 'bits and bobs' as Cas would say. Dean was so proud of Gabriel. His newest album was being released next week (crap! that meant _another_ party) and Dean had never seen him happier...well, except for at his wedding to the famous designer Sam Campbell. It was after the wedding that Dean and Sammy had discovered they were brothers, but now was not the time for going down that rabbit hole.

He had been so lost in memories he was surprised to find Cas standing next to him, handing him a bottle of water. He smiled up into those melt-inducing, blue eyes in thanks. As he cracked the bottle open, he snuggled into the arm his alpha had wrapped around his shoulders. Feeling Cas shake with laughter, he turned to watch Jo try and keep up with Charlie, who now had almost everyone on the dance floor trying to do the macarena. Didn't that freaky little alpha know that it was 2054? The song and the dance were older than dirt.

"Dean. I want one dance with you, my love." He shivered when Cas whispered in his ear and he was tipsy enough to think about it.

"Just one, Cas?" He batted his eyelashes at him, knowing that no one but his mate could see him.

"Yes, just one, slow dance at our anniversary party, please, Omega." Double damn, Cas wasn't playing fair as he flashed those red alpha eyes at him while saying please.

"Alright, just one. Later, I'll give you a dance you'll remember 'til we're dead and buried." Winking, he stood up and pulled Cas towards the dance floor since he seemed to be rendered motionless at Dean's words.

Cas stopped him in the middle of the dance floor surrounded by their friends when the loud music came to an abrupt stop, to be replaced by a piano and a familiar voice singing their wedding song. Damn Cas and Gabriel. He had to blink hard when Cas began singing softly with Gabriel.

 

What would I do without your smart mouth

Drawing me in, and you kicking me out

Got my head spinning, no kidding

I can't pin you down

 

What's going on in that beautiful mind

I'm on your magical mystery ride

And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me,

But I'll be alright

 

My head's under water

But I'm breathing fine

You're crazy and I'm outta my mind

 

'Cause all of me

Loves all of you

Love your curves and all your edges

All your perfect imperfections

 

Give your all to me

I'll give my all to you

You're my end and my beginning

Even when I lose I'm winning

 

'Cause I give you all of me

And you give me all of you

 

Dean forgot that there was anyone else in the room except his alpha, who was holding him as if he was the most precious thing in the world to him. Everyday Cas made him feel that way, and even when they were fighting he never made Dean doubt his love.

Just as he was about to really break his rules and kiss his alpha in public, he heard his and every other law enforcement's at the party communicators go off, calling them all to service.

Dean answered the call from Central as Cas was digging out Sober up for him (the waiters were passing it out to the others), to be told that there had been a homicide. There was always someone who thought they had the right to take someone's life, which is one of the reasons he was a cop. Just as he was finishing his water, Commissioner Shurley walked up to him and Cas.

"Lieutenant Winchester, it seems this has your name on it." Dean could see the puzzlement on the man's face, only to hear the same in his and Cas' voice as they both said "Sir?" at the same time.

"The victim has a note pinned on the body that _literally_ has your name on it." Dean felt Cas' whole body go rigid.

"Son of a bitch."


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

When Dean and Cas got into the car, he found that their driver had already put his work bag in the backseat. Whenever they went out (which wasn't often) his mate made sure that if Dean was called in to an investigation he would have what he needed, such as a change of clothes or an extra stunner. He would never question the alpha how he had acquired extra NYPD issues weapons, comfortable shoes, and his Hand Held.

As soon as Cas raised the glass to give them privacy, Dean began removing all the sparkles he was wearing letting Cas put them in a small bag. Dean was unbuttoning his shirt as Cas was unfolding the new shirt and flannel when the alpha began talking things out like they had learned to do through trial and error.

"Alright, this perp wants your attention and you will give it to them, just not necessarily the way they want. Tell me you understand that they have my attention as well." Dean could hear the worry behind the cool threat that was in the alpha's voice.

"I will not keep you out of the loop, I will accept your help and I will take all precautions I can. Good?" His words were a bit muffled since his head was stuck in his shirt.

"Thank you, Darling Dean. I will observe, while being at your service if you ask for it." He snorted in laughter since they both knew that since Dean had been spotlighted by the perp Cas would be observing and doing his own investigation on the side.

 

On the rest of the short ride to the murder site, Dean read the information that Central had sent over his communicator.

**Apartment is rented to a Shandi Miller aka Scarlette. A professional sex worker with the rating Grade A-3. Her license lists her as 5'6",110lbs, red hair and green eyes. It states her DOB as 7/7/2030. She was born in Dry Prong, LA and registered in NYC in 2047. A Missings Persons report has been found issued from a Deputy D. Harris from Dry Prong, LA. It states that the Deputy believes Shandi Miller may have information regarding her parents' murder/suicide, but is not a suspect at the time of crime; 1/17/2046.**

Dean looked up to tell Cas what he read, only to see that his alpha was reading the same thing on his communicator. When Cas looked up, Dean arched his brow causing the alpha to laugh before informing Dean that Commissioner Shurley had authorized him to receive the update from Central.

"Of course, he did. He knows that you're going to be involved, and at least this way he can pretend that it was his idea." He leaned over to kiss Cas just as the car came to a stop. "No funny business now, there's cops around."

Just as Dean was climbing out of the car he heard his mate grumble that there were _always_ cops around them. He had a hard time not laughing as he stepped up to the uniform standing outside the apartment door. Dean glanced around taking note that no one from the other apartment was outside watching, which told him that this neighborhood was used to the cops being around. The building was a white cement, brick one-story with what looked like fifteen apartments from what he could see. He'd check on the building later, or have Cas do it. Glancing at the uniform's name plate, Dean put on his Lieutenant game face.

 

"Officer O. Chau, report." He felt Cas run his finger down his back as he stopped next to him. Dean had to stop himself from shivering and he was so glad that there was no one behind him, since he didn't feel like kicking his alpha's ass later, fine as his ass was.

"Yes, Sir, Lieutenant Winchester. A call came in from Dispatch of a report of screaming coming from the address 1227 Wellington Dr., apartment 3C. My partner and I received the call at 21:15. We were only a mile away and arrived at 21:17 to find the door open approximately 5" with no damage. It was silent, so I knocked on the door frame calling out that I was a police officer responding to a 911 call. When there was no response Officer S. Collins and I drew our stunners and entered the apartment. I immediately saw the victim who was hanging from a pipe in the kitchen. I checked for a pulse but it was apparent her neck had been broken. We cleared the apartment and I then called Dispatch to inform them of a death and the envelope pinned to her shirt with your name on it, Lieutenant." The officer never took a breath during his report and maintained eye contact not having to check his HH. Dean was impressed.

"Good job, Officer. Who's on call for Coroner?" he asked as he stepped up to the Cop Box.

"Doc Julian," the uniformed officer replied.

"Alright, let me know when he arrives. My partner and Detective Bradbury should be arriving shortly." Dean was in the process of spraying his hands and the souls of his shoes with sealant.

He absolutely _hated_ the feel of the stuff, but it made investigating so much easier. It was a latex-like spray that coated his hands so that he left no prints, eliminating gloves that could mess up prints already at the crime scene. It also stopped the need for paper booties that went over one's shoes that ripped so easily. The sealant kept the investigators shoes from depositing or withdrawing evidence as they went in and out of the crime scene. So he sucked it up and sprayed away before handing it to his mate.

Also in the Cop Box were masks if the need was there, extra HH's (the newest model that Cas had developed), flashlights, evidence bags, and sterile tweezers to gather evidence. As soon as the first responders called in a crime, one of the robotic cop cars would arrive with the Cop Box and androids if they were needed. Dean hated androids. They were creepy as fuck but they were intimidating enough to keep most lookie-loos away so the cops could do their job.

Dean pulled his own HH unit out, leaving the vic's communication unit to Cas to check for the last calls or transaction, and confirmed the time of death. He also took her fingerprints, making sure to follow the #1 rule that Bobby had taught him when he was Dean's mentor (and before the traitor moved over to Cyber from Homicide), which was to check everything once, twice, even three times.

When he bent over to take a closer look at the chair that was underneath the vic, he heard Cas swallow. Craning his head to look over his shoulder at his mate he saw that the blue was almost completely gone from his eyes.

"What?" he whispered, not wanting the uniforms to hear him.

Cas didn't answer but took his suit coat off and shoved Dean into it. Now he usually didn't mind being manhandled by his alpha (he was a large omega and he and Cas were about the same size) and his alpha strength, but not at a crime scene!

"Hey! What the fuck?" he questioned as Cas turned him back around to button the jacket closed.

"When you bend over, those jeans show off the top of your lacy white thong." Dean would never admit that the sound that came out of his mouth was a squeak, but it was.

"Thanks, Cas." He discreetly squeezed his mate's fingers before going back to looking at the chair.

He heard Cas go into the bathroom to look around, and give him a minute to calm down. The alpha was muttering in his native tongue. He caught the phrase "самец или самка из одной пары," which was Cas' way of saying he wanted to mate with him. Fuck.

Dean stood up to glance around the studio apartment. He could see everything but the inside of the bathroom from where he stood. The kitchen area was small but Shandi had decorated it kinda cute. The chair was one of a pair that went with a small, round table that separated the kitchen from the living/sleeping area. There was a sleeper couch, a small TV, and the communication unit/computer was on the coffee table. Cheap posters were framed and hung on the walls of the studio. There were two that were of famous art pieces, and three smaller ones that were of wildflowers. The bones of the place were ragged but Dean could see the care that she had put into her living space. Hearing Jo and Charlie arguing about some video game, he turned off the recorder that was pinned to his collar so he could address them as soon as they came in.

"What can I do, Dean?" Charlie asked before turning her recorder on. He loved the convenience of the recorders. They recorded video and audio, having become mandatory after the NYPD decided to protect the citizens and officers during arrests. No one could claim resisting arrest, police brutality or any other falsehoods when everything was there to be seen and heard.

"Cas is checking out her medicine cabinet so why don't you check out her communicator/computer. There's only the one older unit that I see but I also don't see a personal/wrist unit. Jo, check and see if she had one, and if yes, find it. I'm gonna start on the dresser." He walked away knowing his team would do their jobs.

 

Much later, Dean woke up as Cas was holding him in the elevator which told him that his alpha was as tired as he since he didn't just walk up the stairs to their bedroom. He tightened his arm around Cas' neck, placing a kiss on his jaw.

"Ah, you're in the land of the living again, Darling Dean." Cas nuzzled into Dean's kisses.

"Yeah, when did I drop out?" He did not have a clue what time it was.

"At your desk, after interrogating Shandi's pimp for hours. His alibi held though; can't argue with being in the drunk tank and you couldn't get anything out of him about having someone else kill her or any connection to you." Dean felt the frustration in Cas' body and smelled the exhaustion from both of them. He swung his legs off of the alpha's arms but kept his arm around his neck so he could comfortably bury his nose under his ear.

"We need food and sleep, Dean. Please don't argue. I'm too tired to kick your ass." Dean knew he was right there with Cas since he giggled instead of smack talking at him.

"We had snacks at the station." He couldn't _not_ sass his alpha at all.

"That fake, government-approved, soy chips and fake, meat/cheese thing that called itself a turkey and swiss wrap was not food. I want real meat. I want a burger and fries. Real potatoes, by God!" Dean hummed an agreement in his ear as the elevator stopped, the door opening at the sitting room area of the bedroom.

He went to his closet as Cas' worked the autochef for their meal (and some treats for Rufus, of course), deciding that he wanted to be comfortable as he ate, then set up his murder board. He hated computers (okay, they hated _him)_ , and he preferred to keep an old fashioned murder board during his cases. The visual he could pace around helped settle the noises in his head, helping him see things clearer.

Dean grabbed them both a pair of sleep pants, blue for him and green for Cas, both of which had hearts on them. Sappy, fricking alpha. Dean was sure he had never seen these before but that was the mystery of his closet. New things continued to appear without him ever having to shop. Nice. Snatching some plain, extremely-soft tees, he walked out to sit at their breakfast spot. He loved the comfortable chairs and small table where they always started their day with each other and the news, either on tablets or the television.

As soon as he sat with one leg underneath him, Rufus was in his lap and Cas was handing him a beer. An actual, by the Gods beer! Years before he was born, the Government became tired of the people's inability to care for their health and slowly began changing things. The _real_ meats, beer, coffee, and other things were still available, but only people with serious money were able to afford them. Before Cas, Dean had never tasted real coffee and now...he was hooked. If he thought he could get away with having coffee after they ate as he set up his board he would, but it was three am and he knew he needed sleep soon so he could function tomorrow. He had learned to compromise, damn it.

Cas came back in the room with plates full of cheeseburgers, fries and a small salad. Crap. Compromise sucked sometimes. Fuck it, he'd eat the salad first so that the salt and fat from the burger and fries would linger on his tongue and not cucumber.

"Thanks, Alpha." He blew his mate a kiss before shoving a fork full of lettuce in his mouth.

"You're welcome, свинья." He laughed as Cas took a huge bite of his burger. Piggies who pig-out together, stay together.

It didn't take them long to inhale their food, especially after Cas provided the entertainment by  pulling out a brand-new, catnip mouse for Rufus. Dean laughed at him for spoiling the cat, but shut up when Cas pointed out that he wasn't the one pouting when said cat kept trying to steal his french fries. Well, they were made from _real potatoes_ and not a bunch of man-made crap that the Government said was better for you....yuck.

Since his alpha "cooked" Dean did his part and put their dirty dishes into the dumbwaiter, sending them to the kitchen for Crowley or his droid to deal with. It was bad enough he had to deal with the short, domineering alpha, but he also had to see a lookalike droid of the asshole around the house doing chores. The thought caused him to shudder in revulsion as he walked past his mate and Dean just shook his head at Cas' questioning look.

The alpha pointed towards the private office, saying he'd join Dean in a few moments. He snatched a kiss before they parted at Dean's office door. Cas' main office was connected to his but his private office was really _private_ . Only three people knew it existed and were able to access it by voice and retinal scan. The room contained a large desk and more computers and servers than Dean had ever seen in his life, and it was so heavily protected with shields and firewalls that no one could ever see what those computers were accessing.

While Dean was usually fine with getting his information on his official computer, one that had the CompServe protections on it (some thingy that the Government used to try and stop hackers and criminals) sometimes letting (ha!) Cas find out what else was online was worth sticking a toe over the law's line. He knew without a doubt that as soon as they were told the perp had mentioned him by name that Cas would do whatever _he deemed necessary_ to protect his mate, physically and mentally. The alpha made it perfectly clear early in their mating that he was aware that Dean being an omega didn't mean that Cas thought he was weak and needed protecting (he could and did kick his alpha ass on a weekly basis when they spared together in their gym) but he loved Dean, so he would get protective when he thought it prudent.

 

Dean stopped when he stepped through the door of his office taking a moment to appreciate how deceptively simple Cas had made it. It looked rather plain, with just a desk and his official communication/computer system, comfy chair, television on the wall, and a smaller desk in the corner for when Jo worked with him at home. However, it was deceptively simple because there were toys hidden in the walls. He walked over and pulled on a book from the shelf that opened a slender door where he pulled out a large white board on wheels to use as his murder board. He wanted to get started on it before he crashed, and it would be a help to have it in the morning since Jo and Charlie would be arriving at 0900 (and made sure he knew they expected chow and coffee, Cas was s _poiling_ them too) and he wanted to hit it running.

Pulling up the list of evidence recovered at the scene, he began printing out copies so he could tack them to the back side of the white board. He had to beat his computer several times to get it to recognize his voice, and he also _may_ have threatened to toss it off the fifth story balcony, but it finally decided to authorize the prints.

Dean was pinning them to the corkboard when Cas walked in and handed him a bottle of water. As he went to grab it he noticed the evidence copy in his other hand, causing him to drop the water.

"What is it, Dean?" Cas questioned after picking the bottle up. He step next to Dean to read the paper then began laughing his ass off.

"It's not funny, Cas! I can't....I don't....I'll make Jo talk to her! You can't make me." He knew he was stuttering but there was nothing he could do about it.

He had faced many things in his life, things that scared him but he faced them and conquered them. Being abused? Kill the monster. Murderers? Bring them to justice. Fall in love? Mate his alpha. He could and would face scary things probably for the rest of his life but one thing he dreaded more than most? Talking to Rowena. The woman who tortured him anytime Gabriel brought her around. She yelled at him, pulled his hair, and _did things_ to him. She cut and styled his hair when he was perfectly fine with chopping off the long bits himself (he had done it for years and it was fine). She put _mud masks_ on his face and body (that was the last time he got drunk with her around) and yeah, ok, his skin never felt better and Cas loved rubbing the lotion of his body, but damn it! She scared the bejesus outta him! Finding a copy of a receipt from Rowena's Full Body & Mind Spa dated today, well yesterday, the day Shandi was murdered. _Someone_ (he was so "not it"), was gonna have to call her and if she mentioned Dean, well, he'd be hiding.

They worked for about an hour, Cas helping him talk through his thoughts as he made his board. Nothing was jumping out at him; absolutely nothing, which was odd. Except for the Missing Persons on her, he couldn't find anything on Shandi until she was in the city and applying for her sex-worker license. There was almost a missing year where she had no registered job, income, nothing. He'd call Deputy D. Harris in the morning and see if there was something that wasn't put on the official report. There had to be something in that missing year that connected them because with what was known about her, Dean could find no connection to him. It bothered him more than he let on, but of course Cas knew.

"Come on, Dean. You're dragging and your brain needs rest to be able to think clearly. We've only got about five hours 'til Jo and Charlie arrive, which means we've got four hours to sleep." Dean let himself be led from his office.

"Did you find anything?" he questioned as they went up the stairs towards their bedroom, their 'nest'.

"I've set it to run 'til the morning. I'll check after I've given you your first cup of coffee in bed, Darling Dean." Fucking alpha thought he was so smooth, and he was.

"Sounds good. I need to do a quick rinse. I smell like too many people after the crime scene. I'll be right out," he said as he walked straight to the bathroom, leaving Cas to evict Rufus from where he was sleeping in the middle of the bed.

 

He had just kicked his clothes in the corner to deal with in the morning and was standing under the rain-head letting the water wash over his face when he felt the air shift, letting him know that Cas had joined him.

"I had plans on giving you a lap dance to "Kashmir" and riding your knot, but I'm gonna have to give you a rain check. I'm wiped." He could smell the spike of arousal from Cas then the soothing, comforting scent letting him know how much his mate loved him.

" совершенно," he felt Cas whisper into his neck as he washed Dean's back.

"Mmhmmm. Whatever you said Cas, I agree," he groaned leaning his forehead on the shower wall. If his alpha kept up the touches he'd fall asleep standing up.

Dean walked into the drying tub while Cas used the towel after the shower. He usually didn't have the patience to take the ten minutes to rub himself dry since he was usually craving his next cup of coffee, but he did so enjoy watching Cas chase every drop of water from his body with a big, fluffy towel. Damn, if he wasn't so tired he'd rock Cas' world.

Meeting back in the bedroom, he saw that the alpha had started the fireplace, going for just the flames without the heat since it was mid-summer and the air conditioning was on. He did enjoy the ambiance, even if he was just going to crawl into their bed, wrap around Cas and crash. He didn't even want to bother to take the time to grab sleep pants. Dean wanted to feel his mate's skin on his, along with the luxurious, soft sheets. When they had mated and Cas found out how much Dean appreciated a soft nest, he had bought a company that made the very best. The omega never thought he would sleep on sheets and comforters made in Rome, Italy. He did enjoy being spoiled but he would _never ever_ say it out loud, but he couldn't control that Cas could smell "happy omega" so he never even tried.

He barely felt Cas climb into the bed, since it's size was almost bigger than the whole apartment he was living in when they met, curling around his back. The last thought he had, after Rufus flopped over his feet, was how thankful he was for everything he had and he would make sure that whoever took Shandi's life, he would put them away. He would get justice for the young beta.

 

Dean woke to the scent of coffee close to his face. Damn, that was the third-best scent in the world (the second being their scent after they fucked and the first being Cas' scent all on its own). Keeping his eyes closed, he wiggled his nose taking in the enticing aroma of mate and coffee combined. It was a happy scent, making him wiggle his hips along with his nose which then brought the sound of Cas' laughter to his ears. Popping his eyes open, they locked on the blue-eyed devil that was holding their two coffees as he sat on the edge of the bed, already dressed for work. Dean sat up, letting the pale-ivory sheet fall to his waist taking his cup from his mate. As he took his life bringing, first sip of the caramel latte (he allowed himself one sweet coffee of the day before switching to black), he let his eyes roam all over his alpha's body in what was probably a seven-thousand dollar, handmade, black suit. He knew it was that expensive after Cas had him fitted for his own, before Gabriel had come home from Europe mated to the world's best fashion designer (and, it turns out, Dean's brother, that he never knew he had) and Cas hired Sam to make all of Dean's fancy-shmancy crap. Hell, he even had Sam making his jeans and t-shirts!

"You need to get your thoughts together, Beloved. You've got about an hour before Jo and Charlie are here. I've already let Crowley know that we'll be four for breakfast and we'll eat in your office." He was drinking his coffee, talking to Dean and watching the stock numbers on his tablet.

He never felt slighted. He was always amazed at how Cas could multi-task and he knew if he even just hummed, that his alpha would give one-hundred percent attention to him, but at the moment he was trying to get the rest of his brain cells awake, finish his coffee, and plan what needed to be done after they ate.

"Son of a bitch!" he said.

"What's wrong, Omega?" And yep, he had his whole attention; everything else forgotten except for his upset mate.

"I never got to give you your anniversary present last night." He was not pouting. Nope. He never pouted.

"I thought you said you were giving me a rain-check?" He loved the smirk on Cas' face, the giant perv.

"Not that. That was just a Thursday night, sex thought. I got you an actual present. I _shopped_ , Alpha. Shopped!" Oh, forget it, he was pouting now. He deserved recognition for going to an actual store to shop: he braved crowds, he had to fight off pushy-ass sales associates.

"Oh, I see. How many civilians did you yearn to stun when you 'shopped'?" Cas could barely talk from biting back laughter.

"So many, Cas. So many." He lay his forehead on the alpha's shoulder, enjoying the giggles. He would take the time to enjoy this before his day started down the rabbit hole of chasing a murderer.

He had learned it was important.


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

Dean was enjoying his hot shower (Cas always accused him of trying to boil him alive when they shared) still chuckling over the fact that he made his alpha blush. He didn't get to do it often, so sue him if he enjoyed it when he did. When they were finishing their coffee, Cas offered to pick out his clothes "to save Dean time." Dean had reminded him he was perfectly capable of picking out his own and Cas began stuttering that he  _ knew _ that, he was just making sure Dean had the time he needed to prepare for his day. His arguments had made Dean giggle but he assured his mate that, of course he would appreciate his help and the fact that Cas would scent mark his clothes, making sure that, beyond the mating bite Dean proudly wore, beyond the wedding ring, everyone would know that he had someone who belonged to him. Sappy fricking alpha. He really did think that way: not that Dean  _ belonged  _ to Cas because he was an omega, but that Dean had an alpha that belonged  _ to him. _ They were partners in every sense of the word.

Walking back into the bedroom and seeing Cas on the phone with Missouri (thankfully audio only, no facetime), he put of bit more sway in his hips when he saw Cas' eyes follow him as he walked to the bed to put on the clothes his mate had set out for him. He bent over slowly to step into the pastel mint-green, satin panties that had small bows on his hips. As he  _ finally  _ tugged them over his ass cheeks he could smell Cas' arousal and he just barely kept in his giggle. He loved to tease his alpha. 

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he shoved his legs into the distressed and faded blue jeans that hugged his legs and ass. Genius Sam had made them with some kind of stretchy denim that let Dean chase the bad guys without having to worry about splitting his pants. He felt the heat of Cas' gaze follow the jeans up his legs, and Dean heard the snap of his jaw when he flopped back on his back, raising his hips to pull his jeans to his waist to fasten them. He knew he was being a little shit, but he really didn't care because he was positive that they would both enjoy it tonight when Cas made him pay for all the teasing.

As he pulled on his green henley, he let it fall slowly down his chest to cover his perky,  _ extremely _ sensitive nipples along with his first wedding anniversary gift from Cas. It was a long, silver chain (Cas knew he wouldn't want everyone and their brother to see it) that had two stones set into a heart in a yin-yang design. One was an emerald and the other was a sapphire, sappy frickin alpha. Dean had gotten Cas an oil painting of the alpha's favorite picture from their wedding. 

Shaking himself out of the memory of that anniversary, Dean buckled on his shoulder stunner-holder and then his "summer jacket" that was a green flannel with pockets and  _ inner, hidden  _ pockets that Sam had made into all of his jackets. His brother was one hell of a designer.

Of course the hidden pockets idea came from the former criminal mind of his alpha but Dean found he was fine with that, along with the  _ technically  _ illegal, electronic devices and lock picks that he shoved in the hidden pockets.

Glancing at the time on his wrist unit he saw he had time for another cup of coffee before his team showed up, so he headed towards the AutoChef and found that Cas had already made a tray with coffee for them and Rufus's tuna breakfast. He placed the dish of tuna on the floor and paused to rub along his cat's back just to piss him off. He really was feeling like a shit today. Oh well. He took the tray into the bedroom so he could sit with his mate for a minute before his brain had to go from warm, happy omega, to homicide lieutenant. 

"Good morning, Dean." He started when he realized Cas had turned on the facetime option on the communicator and Missouri addressed him.

"G'Mornin, Missouri. How's the corporate world today?" He saluted her with his coffee mug and tried to shift over to appear to not be almost be sitting in Cas' lap. 

"Just fine, Sweetie. Be safe today, Dean. Castiel, I'll see you for your ten am meeting." She gave them both the stink eye before she disconnected the call, leaving them looking at each other wide eyed before they began laughing at how much she intimidated them.

 

Dean walked into his home office thirty minutes later with a bit of blush on his face, as well as fingertip bruises on his hips. He also had to walk through a mist of Scent Disperser, which eliminated the scent of arousal and slick from his body so that he could get to work without facing his team and being subjected to their teasing over breakfast. Once work began, the members of his team were some of the best cops he had ever worked with, even with their quirks. He sat down to check if the labs had sent any reports over regarding the evidence from the crime scene. He stated his rank, name, and badge number to 'wake' his computer, only to be met with a blank screen with a lone, blinking cursor. 

"Lieutenant, Winchester, Dean, #176925," he spat out again.

Just as he was about to start beating on the computer that was taunting him with that stupid, flashing cursor, Cas walked into his office.

"Tut tut, Lieutenant. Machines do not respond well to violence. Have the vending machines at Central taught you nothing?" the snarky alpha teased while he walked over to Dean's computer. Dean was appalled that the computer responded when Cas stated Dean's identification.

"How?" he sputtered, glaring at the stupid machine. "It's voice activated and I  _ know _ we sound nothing alike!"

Before the alpha could answer (or Dean could wipe the smirk of the snickering man), Crowley buzzed through on the house intercom, letting them know that his team was pulling through the gates and that he had sent the breakfast tray up to the bedroom AutoChef. Dean went to another hidden door in his office and pulled out a small folding table that they used if additional space was needed for his team to work or eat. Cas brought in four chairs from a closet, then went to go get the food tray. Dean had just programmed a pot of coffee from his office AutoChef when Jo and Charlie came through the office door, laughing. 

"Oh, God! My fucking eyes! What the hell are you two wearing?" He stood completely still and closed his eyes at the onslaught of colors.

Charlie had always dressed, walked, and ran to the beat of her own drummer, and he had almost gotten used to the unending display of rainbows she wore, either on her leggings, shirts, jackets, sunglasses...there was always a rainbow on the best computer geek (after Cas, of course) that he had ever known (but don't tell Bobby that!).

But today, the offending colors came from Jo, too, and damn, did Dean wish that his partner was still required to be in uniform. After passing her detective exam last year, she had been allowed to work in her own clothes. She began with normal jeans and t-shirts, etc., but after she started dating Charlie about six months ago, Jo had gotten  _ colorful _ ...damn it. Today, Jo was wearing black jeans (perfectly normal) along with a black summer jacket (both pieces being 'Dean approved'), but it was her top that caused his eyes to want to bleed. It was neon pink with annoyingly bright rainbow hearts all over it. If only he could get away with telling her that Command had issues with her wardrobe choices....Ah, who was he kidding? He wouldn't do that to her, anyway. What were some bleeding eyes compared to his partner and friend finding happiness? However, that didn't mean he would be  _ quiet  _ about it.

"Seriously, Jo. My eyes are bleeding over here. One of you take the coffee before I drop it and have to stun both of you!" he yelled, but even he could hear the laughter in his voice.

"Good morning, Detectives. I hope you both had a good night's sleep and are ready for breakfast. Darling Dean, will you please program some orange juice? If I remember correctly, it's Charlie's favorite." Cas walked into the office, as always oozing charm and making his team feel at home. Even after so many years, the other cops he dealt with were in awe of the alpha, except for Bobby. Bobby just drooled whenever they talked computers, the nerds.

As he was bringing over the juice, he realized that once again his sneaky mate had called him "Darling" in front of his team. He knew Cas did it on purpose. Although he would never admit it, he just liked to see him blush. Determined not to give Cas that particular pleasure this morning, he counted to ten to cool off before sitting at the table, but he couldn't resist resting his hand on his alpha's thigh and squeezing hard enough that Cas would be sporting matching finger bruises. The alpha busted out a laugh, causing the females to look at him in question.

"What's so funny, Cas?" Jo asked as she kept her gaze on his alpha's chin, not being able to look him in the eyes, due to her slight crush on Cas. It was something Dean and Charlie teased her about, mostly due to the fact that Cas had no clue at all.

"Nothing, my apologies. I don't want my mate to be even more upset with me." He sipped his coffee calmly as he slipped his other hand down to thread his fingers with Dean's. Sneaky alpha.

"Yeah, so...don't you have work to get to Cas?" He hoped the alpha took the hint, since he wanted to keep his embarrassment to a minimum.

"Not yet. I do have time to finish eating, Dean." Well, now that made him feel guilty. He could feel his inner omega getting pissed at him for suggesting his alpha leave before eating his breakfast.

Charlie discreetly covered her nose, but Jo was a bit more obnoxious about it as she began coughing and waving her hand in front of her face. Sometimes Dean  _ hated _ that others could read his mood by his scent, even if he was better at controlling his than most people, except when he was at home.

"Just shut up and eat," he said as he got up to go get some more coffee, deciding to use the bedroom AutoChef rather than the office one to give himself a moment.  

 

He leaned against the counter after programming the coffee, ankles crossed and his arms folded around his middle. Dean hadn't felt this worthless as a mate in a while and he knew in his brain that he wasn't as horrible as he was thinking, but deep down he still felt that Cas was out of his league. He took a few deep breaths trying to dispel the 'sad omega' from his scent but before it was totally gone he caught the scent of 'concerned alpha'. 

"Dean, sweetheart, please stop." He let Cas wrap his arms around him, pulling his face into his neck to scent the love pouring from his mate.

"M'sorry." He wriggled his arms out from in between them to shove them under Cas' suit jacket and around his strong back.

"There's no need, Darling Dean. I love you, everything about you, from now until I take my last breath." He could feel Cas' love deep in his soul and knew that the alpha spoke the truth.

"After we catch this son of a bitch and before the sneaky trip you're planning, I want a weekend on the island. I want to be naked with you for at least forty-eight hours, and have you chase me around the beach. Hell, maybe I'll chase you, whatcha think, Alpha?" he purred into Cas' neck.

"I believe I'd let you catch me." He jumped when his mate smacked him on the ass.

"Alright," he said pulling back to look Cas in the eyes, those damn blue eyes that made his knees weak and his hole slick. "Let me go see what the ladies have deduced from the board, then I'll send them out. After that, I need to head in to Central, check in with the rest of my detectives and get in to see Donna." He nipped his alpha's bottom lip then spun away before Cas could pull him in for a deeper kiss.

"Brat. Give Donna my best, and please remember to eat lunch, Darling Dean. Call me if you need me." He caught the kiss Cas blew him right before he was forced to catch a set of keys that the alpha tossed towards him.

"What's this?" Dean held them back towards Cas.

"Won't have my mate running around in an insulting black and white today while your cop shop tries to fix your latest blasted car. Chuck approved you using one of ours, Dean, so quit frowning at me." He could immediately feel himself frown even more.

"I don't wanna run around in a car that costs more than most of my detectives make, combined!" he huffed. Yes, he liked being spoiled most of the time, but he sure didn't wanna rub it in.

"I do know you, Omega, and no, before you ask you can't drive Baby, but only because she can't go vertical. The keys are to a plain suv, something large enough for you and the girls. I love you, Omega. Be safe." And with that last word, Cas disappeared behind the closing elevator doors. How did he always get the timing just right to do that? It drove Dean crazy.

 

Walking into the Homicide Division at Central still gave Dean a thrill; it was something he had wanted since he was about ten years old. He knew what it was like to be a victim and to kill the monster who raped him. When he was eighteen, he finally got to know what it was like to be the one to get justice for victims. He had started out as a beat cop and then, just like he had taken Jo as his assistant and trainee, Bobby Singer had trained him in Homicide after Dean had found a young man who had been slaughtered. Helping Bobby solve that case and then getting the offer to be his trainee changed everything for Dean. Glancing around, he saw his Detectives in different stages of investigating. Some were working the phones, others were interviewing witnesses at their desks, and there were a few of the interrogation rooms in use as well.

Dean unlocked his office and went straight to his mini AutoChef, which just contained coffee (the crappy, fake stuff, plus his own supply of  _ real _ coffee that Cas had set him up with), water, tea, and some type of energy drink that he had never tried. He stood there, inhaling the aroma of the dark, roasted, black coffee (that probably made up 80% of his DNA) as he planned out his next hour or so before his conference call with Deputy D. Harris. Jo had called first thing that morning and was informed that the deputy was in court until lunch time, but would be happy to speak with Dean as soon as she was out. Interrupted from his thoughts by a knock on his door jam, he opened his eyes to see one of his best detectives, Jonathan Fletcher, gazing longingly at his coffee mug. Walking over to stand behind his desk, Dean arched a brow at Fletcher before speaking.

"What have you done to deserve  _ My _ coffee, Fletch?" He would usually share but he had to make them earn it, at least sometimes.

"Well, Conner and I caught the ass who stunned Michael Robbins to death trying to rob him. Idiot said he only meant to knock him out like all the others he robbed, but that his stunner 'fucked up' after he had dropped it down the stairs. He's saying it's not his fault but the manufacturer's since it should be better made to withstand drops." Dean could see the anger in the man's eyes at the loss of life. It was one of the reasons Dean had recruited him for his team: he cared about the victims.

"Yeah, alright, get ya' a cup." He sat at his desk looking over the reports from the labs only to feel eyes on him.

"Something else, Fletch?" he asked, looking up.

"Um...it's about your case, Winchester." He could smell the nervousness coming from the alpha standing in front of him.

"Spit it out." Dean nodded when the man motioned to closing the office door, which was usually open letting his detectives know that he was available to them, anytime.

"I knew your vic, uh...about a year ago." He watched and waited for him to continue, but the detective just sipped his coffee, not raising his eyes from the mug. Huh...Dean was definitely curious but he was going to wait Fletch out. The man needed to own whatever he had to say.

"So, uh...fuck it. I was lonely, Lieutenant. I had broken up with MaryJane about two months before. I was looking for something lasting and, yeah, I knew she wasn't my mate but I did love her when she decided that she didn't love me. It broke me for awhile, not gonna lie." Dean was glad he could control his scent since he was kinda grossed out.

Sex workers were legal, of course, and they were tested regularly for diseases and mental health. Their licenses were rated on what they were legally allowed to charge for and they had strict supervision. He knew all that but he still got icky thinking about charging for sex. Leaning back in his chair and crossing his feet on top of his desk, he motioned for him to continue.

"I had been at The Roadhouse looking for 'the one,' drinking scotch and just plain annoying Ellen. I was getting depressed, honestly, and Ellen told me I just needed to get laid and that I should join a dating service or some shit. Anyway the getting laid part sounded really good, but the ladies at the bar that night weren't interested in a sad alpha, so I asked Ellen if she knew a decent pro and she recommended Scarlette, even called her for me. I guess she was one of the newbies that Ellen takes care of." Dean knew exactly what he meant. 

 

Ellen was the owner and bartender at The Roadhouse, a rough and tumble bar where you could find booze, food, sex, and if you were a newbie to the city or down on your luck, Ellen would give you a room with board for a few months. She gave people a chance to get on their feet, but they worked at the bar while they were there as part of the deal. Even if it was just mopping the floors, she expected you to pull your weight. She would also get them to a clinic if they were sick, to counselors if they needed it, and she would call Dean if the newbie needed a cop, or if they were shady for Dean to check out. 

Dean had known her since he was sixteen and on the streets, most of the time to stay away from his last foster home. The couple wasn't as bad as some he had been with, mostly just busy and he was ready to be on his own. Ellen had taken him under her wing, giving him affection and a good yelling if he needed it. It had blown his mind to find out years later that she was Jo's alpha mother. Jo had been raised by her omega father for years while Ellen had done time for hurting another alpha that thought he was going to assault her. Ellen had looked for her mate and child for years, only finding Jo after her father died. On his deathbed he had finally told her her mother's name. He shook his head at how the world worked, turning his attention back to his detective, who was feeling like shit.

"OK, how long was your business arrangement with the vic?" He hoped it hadn't lasted long since Fletch was now mated. Dean couldn't abide cheaters.

"I only saw her a few times, Lieutenant. All within a month, no longer. She was a sweet girl, very strict about what she was licensed to do and I don't think it was 'cause I'm a cop. I just think she was a rule follower, ya' know?" Dean could feel and smell the sadness rolling of the alpha.

"Alright, so I'm guessing you want to find the scum that did her in?" He watched Fletch's reaction carefully. Since it was someone who he apparently had 'good' feelings towards, it could be problematic. He was pretty sure that he and Conner had another case they were still working.

"If you need me, yeah, of course, but Conner and I are getting close on figuring out who killed Mrs. Murphy. It's looking like it was her shrink. She signed a bunch of stocks over to him in her recently rewritten will." Dean shook his head in wonder at the stupidity of people.

 

Fletch had left to grab his partner and hit the streets to solidify some leads, leaving Dean to go over the reports on his desk, of not only his case but the detectives in his division. He had called and sweet talked (bullied) an appointment from Donna's secretary. That man hated him for some reason. Fuck it, he had his appointment soon and he'd be back in time for his call from Louisiana. 

Realizing he was getting hungry, he looked around his office laughing at himself because it was so small he could almost touch the wall with both hands if he stretched, so there was no one here to see what he was about to do. However, it would be just his luck that someone would come to his door. He tiptoed over to the door softly closing it, even going so far as to lock it, although he didn't know anyone who would just walk in with the door closed. He was about to do something extremely private, even secretive, and he wasn't going to take any chances. He pulled the visitors chair under the ceiling tile right in front of the counter holding the mini and his printer. Stepping up he shifted the tile and reached in only to find  _ nothing _ !

"Son of a bitch! When I find out who the chocolate thief is  _ they'll wish _ that I would only stun them!" he growled out.

He was so pissed off. That had been a good hiding place. It had taken the thief a few months to find it, after he or she had found the last six or so places. Dean had been counting on his candy bar for lunch, not wanting to get anything from vending. Crap. Now he was going to have to face The Machines That Hated Him. They didn't give anyone else trouble. Oh no, they just hated  _ him _ . He put his tokens in just like anyone else (or his bank card if he forgot to grab tokens when he left in the morning), but the machines either refused him, or would give him the wrong thing. It was maddening to push the buttons for a fizzy drink and get a yoghurt smoothie....eww.

Now he really was hungry, so he did what needed to be done. Opening the door, he yelled for Trudy, the team's newest uniform trainee. Let her deal with the vending machines.

It was good to be the boss.

  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was uploaded on my phone so I hope there are no issues in format. If there are... blame technology....hehe  
> Enjoy!

 

 

Dean finished his fizzy drink on the elevator ride to his appointment with Donna, the Department's head psycho-analyst. Somewhere along the way, she had gone from co-worker to his friend, who had helped him deal with the nightmares that still plagued him from his past. They didn't occur as often anymore, but when he ran himself ragged trying to catch a murderer (which he did way too often according to Cas), one would pop up.

He would sit up screaming, unable to breathe or recognize where he was until Cas would pull his face into his scent gland, and eventually he would wake up and find himself in his alpha's arms with Rufus headbutting him wherever he could reach Dean. Cas would pour a soother down his throat and hold him for the rest of the night. They might not sleep any more, but it comforted them both just to hold on to each other until it was time to start their day.

He paused outside the door to Donna's reception area to shake off the thoughts of his past that were sneaking up on him, after thinking about how Donna had become so important to him. He needed his cop hat on, not his victim hat.

As he walked in, Donna's secretary looked at him as if he were something he would wipe off the bottom of his shoe. He had racked his brain for a long time trying to figure out why Marcus hated him, until Donna finally told him that it wasn't hate. He just got upset because she _always_ found time for Dean, regardless of her schedule. Before he could fall into his normal guilty reaction, she informed him that it was Marcus' issue, not theirs. She would put him first because that was her choice, not something Dean demanded, so he could "stuff it then deal with it" in her words.

"She'll be with you in a moment, Lieutenant, then she can only give you twenty minutes before she has a conference call with someone on Outer Penitentiary that she _cannot_ be late for!"

Dean fought the urge to stick his tongue out at the uptight prick, but just barely.

 

By the time he had paced the receptionist area five or six times, Donna's door opened and she beckoned him in with a smile and a hug as soon as he got within reach. He returned her hug enthusiastically, even though most casual touches were just odd to him, unless it was Cas. His mate was always welcome to touches.

"Come in, come in! I've already made us some tea and, yes, you will drink it, doctor's orders. I can smell the stress on you already, Dean. Sit." He sat and watched her retrieve the tiny china cups and saucers that she preferred to serve him tea (ick!) in. He just knew he was going to break one someday.

"Thanks, Donna. Have you had a chance to read my report I sent you this morning?" After he took a polite sip, he sat the china on the table and hoped she would let him get away with that little bit.

"I'm fine, _thanks for asking_." She smirked at him. "How are you and Cas?"

"We're good, and are you and Liam doing well? Donna, seriously, please. I have to report to Commissioner Shurley in thirty. I need your input. I will come by later and you can school my manners," he all but begged the doctor.

"Alright, don't get testy. I was just yanking your chain. Now, drink your damn tea and I'll give you what I know based on what little you have so far." She sat back and waited until he began sipping his tea again (seriously, who would willingly drink this instead of coffee, even the fake crap) before she gave him her analysis.

 

Soon after, Dean walked back into the bullpen to see Jo at her desk working at her computer, so he made a detour so he could poke her on the shoulder, motioning her to follow him to his office. He really needed another hit of coffee. He still got nervous when he had to stand at rest in front of the commissioner and give his reports, only because he respected the man so much and wanted to live up to his expectations.

He programmed his coffee along with a mug for Jo, before sitting at his desk as she tried to get comfortable in his visitor chair. He giggled to himself watching her squirm a bit. He refused to get a better chair since it would only encourage people to stay in his office longer.

"Thanks. Before I begin my report, I'm supposed to inform you that she 'will have you in her spa soon or she will show up at your home to give you what you need.'" He shuddered, knowing that Rowena would follow through on her threat and he would _never ever_ admit that he enjoyed some of the treatments. But she _knew_.

"Knock the smirk off your face and give me your report." He scowled at her best he could, hiding his smile in his coffee mug.

"OK, so our vic had made an appointment five weeks ago, and she wanted Rowena to personally work on her. That's how far out she's booked. Rowena said that Shandi told her she had been dying her hair red to match her working name since she had moved to the city." Jo took a sip of her coffee and checked her notebook before she continued. "The vic stated she was dying her hair herself, but recently she had received word that her license was going up a level--she had passed the next set of testing--and she was going to treat herself to a professional dye job. The new color was going to go with a new name, but she didn't tell Ro what it was going to be, so I placed a call to Benny."

He nodded and waved her out of his office when she indicated that was all, except that Shandi had paid by her banking card.

Dean wondered if Benny was the one who tested the vic for her license upgrade. The large, gentle bear of an alpha was a former sex worker himself. He had switched to sex counselor/sex worker testing after he had fallen in love with Dr. Alfie. Alfie had never had a problem with his alpha being a sex worker, but Benny had decided before they were mated that it wasn't working for him anymore, but he still wanted to help people who had sexual 'issues'. Dean had met Benny when he had been suspected of beating a pimp (Dean realized it was odd he met most of his friends when they were suspects). After he was cleared, Benny had bumped into Alfie at Central when the quiet omega doctor was there to check on an injury of Dean's. The rest was history once the mates smelled each other and he was happy for them. Dean hoped Benny could offer some insight into Shandi's state of mind.

 

Dean had been working at his desk for hours. Between typing up his notes, running the vic through every database he could at work (he hoped Cas' undetectable computers would find something), he could find no connection to him. Deputy D. Harris has emailed him her reports, and the original missing persons file with the understanding that if he found anything that showed that Shandi knew more about her parents' murder he would pass it along. Just as he was going through the report from Dr. Julian, Cas knocked on his open door.

"Hey Cas. Whatcha doing here?" He smiled at his mate and realized he was getting a headache from looking at his screen for so long. He needed to get out and do some leg work.

"Hello, Darling Dean. It's past dinner time and since I _know_ you've had nothing but coffee, fizzes, and one lonely donut since you've been here, I'm here to take you out to eat." Dean was being manhandled into his jacket as Cas spoke. The alpha then shut down his computer and locked his office behind them having ushered a bewildered Dean out with a hand on his lower back.

"How did you...Jo! that traitor tattled on me!" He was beyond indignant. She tattled to Cas on him _again_ about his eating habits.

"Mmm-hmmm. Come along, Dean. We're going to Angel's Pizzaria. They're expecting us soon." Cas ushered him onto the elevator as Dean noticed that there were only a couple of detetives left in the bullpen, but before he could say anything about still needing to work, his stomach growled.

"I guess I could eat a few slices but then I need to put in a few hours at home." He laid his head on his mate's shoulder since there were no other cops in the elevator.

"Of course, Omega. Just remember that your brother and Gabriel are arriving around ten to give us our anniversary present and we need to exchange presents ourselves." It caused Dean to shiver when Cas nuzzled into his hair. Those little, soft touches from his alpha made Dean happy, even if he wasn't.

 

When they got in the car (Dean was always mortified when Cas picked him up using a car and driver) the first thing Cas did was hand him a few Hershey kisses, the dark chocolate kind. He couldn't contain the moan as he popped the first one in his mouth. Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the bittersweet flavor as it melted on his tongue.

"Where was this hiding spot?" Dean could hear the mirth in Cas' voice.

"It's not funny!" He opened one eye to glare at the blue-eyed alpha of his heart. "The chocolate thief has to pay and harshly!" He popped the second kiss in his mouth as he imagined the thief laying on the floor after he had stunned them.

"That's a very жуткий look, Omega. I feel sorry for your thief when you finally find them." He nodded his head agreeing with Cas; he knew he could look scary.

 

As they ate their pizza (meat lovers of course) and a salad, they discussed Dean's case. Cas was ready with an ear anytime Dean needed to talk out the evidence, even when the case was one the alpha didn't get involved in. He had told Dean that he was fascinated with how the omega's mind worked, and while Dean thought Cas was just complimenting him, he would always take the offer of an ear, and for the alpha to play devil's advocate. It really helped him just as much as his old-fashioned murder board.

"Well," Cas began after Dean had run through his findings, "the unregistered hasn't come up with a connection to you either, Beloved." Dean glanced around to make sure no one could hear them.

"The only thing that is remotely the same is that she was in the system, too." Cas finished his glass of wine and signaled for a to-go box for the rest of their pizza.

"What? When? She lived with her parents until they were murdered." Dean was confused at this revelation since his database didn't discover this tidbit of information, possibly damn important information.

"It was for about a year when she was ten years old. Her parents were in jail for drug charges, but after they did their time  they completed the required counseling and they were awarded custody again. From what I've seen so far, they kept their noses clean from then on. I'm still running some searches and have alarms set if anything pops up." He led Dean out of the restaurant by the elbow, since the flabbergasted omega was in shock.

"Sometimes I _hate_ the restrictions the law places on me, but if you repeat that..." he trailed off knowing Cas caught his meaning.

"Yes, Darling Dean, you'll kick my ass." Dean glared at his mate at the smirk on his face, snarky alpha.

"Damn Scooby, I will!" He closed his eyes, resting his head on the seat determined to relax for a few minutes before they got home and he could work until Sammy and Gabe showed up.

 

When the car stopped, Dean stepped out to confusion. Baby was parked at the bottom of the front steps but when he took a second glance, it wasn't _his_ baby. He had bought the '67 Chevy Impala after saving for almost a year after he had joined the police force. She had been in rough shape, but Bobby had schooled him in how to fix her up and maintain her. This was during the time that Bobby had taken him on as his assistant, but doing so much more. Karen had taught him how to do laundry and she took him to an omega doctor once she found out he hadn't seen one since he was fifteen.

He knew his Baby and while this car looked like her, it had all the current bells and whistles and that was just what he could see from the outside.

"Cas? Explain," he demanded as he walked around the car so tempted to pet her but he resisted.

"Well, this is your anniversary present, Darling Dean. Let me explain before you explode," the alpha murmured in his ear startling Dean as he was so focused on the beauty in front of him.

He pointed to the name of the vehicle "Baby 2.0" before telling Cas he really, really needed to explain, now.

"I spoke to Chuck and Michael ages ago about getting the contract for new police vehicles for my company. There are so many that are not up to the newest standards and unfortunately, I understand about budgets making it difficult to upgrade." Dean knew that Cas was leading him around the car to let him see how gorgeous she was, around to the driver's door and yeah, he wanted to see inside it.

"They decided that you should test out the first car of the new fleet. If it meets your standards, then in six months my company will start production and every cop in New York City will drive one of these, but they will be the white and blacks with all the regulatory markings. Also, they will not be named Baby 2.0." Dean was sitting in the driver's seat, looking at the state of the art interior. The communicator/computer was on a swivel so that he or Jo could access it and be seen on a video call. The leather was pristine, with the perfect "new car smell" permeating the inside. It had the capability to put GPS directions on the lower corners of the windshield, it could print out search warrants, it had vertical flight and he knew with Cas designing it, it would work! He squealed (again, what the hell) when his mate showed him that the passenger could reach behind his seat and access a micro-mini AutoChef that was stocked with Cas' coffee, energy drinks, and real chocolate. Holy Batcrap! Dean was a fucking lucky man. He turned to find Cas squatting in the open driver's door looking kissable, so he did.

 

After pulling away from the deep, sensual, make-his-panties-wet kiss, Dean loved the blissed out look on his mate's face. "You are so getting laid tonight, Alpha," he said before diving in for another taste that was uniquely Cas.

"повезло мне" his alpha growled, but Dean knew he was the lucky one.

Taking time to make out in the car was awesome, but Dean pulled back before they got too carried away. He wanted to give Cas his present and he still wanted to at least update his board before their family showed up.

 

"Come on, Cas. Let's go inside, I wanna give you your present." He laughed as Cas kept running his hands all over his body as they jogged up the stairs, making their way into the foyer only to be met by _him._

"I see you two finally decided to act your age and not have sex in the driveway." Crowley's voice got on his last nerve and just as he was about to tell him so, Cas placed his hand over Dean's mouth.

"Enough, Crowley. You too, Dean." He enjoyed the glower Cas gave him when he licked his hand. "We are going to change and then we'll be in Dean's office. Please let us know when our family arrives, then you may have the rest of the night to yourself. Why don't you go out? You're getting a bit crabby, old man. Go find yourself a lady, or lad depending on your mood." When Dean pretended to gag, Cas smacked him on the ass then led him up the stairs.

 

Walking into their room, Dean was still shuddering at the thought of Crowley out on the prowl. He spotted Rufus asleep in the middle of the bed (his most favorite place to snooze) and feeling a bit mischievous he took a running leap to flop face first on the bed, causing the cat to bounce and then take off running in circles around the whole room.

"Dean, really?" He laughed at how put upon Cas sounded from the closet.

When his mate walked out in just a pair of worn-soft, light blue jeans with a t-shirt in his hand (he thought it was the alpha's favorite shirt with a bee on it), he could feel his desire try to ramp up again. He couldn't keep his inner omega from growling when Cas pulled his shirt on, blocking his view of that magnificent chest. Coughing a bit when Cas raised his eyebrow at him, he shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't help what his inner wolf did, right? Jumping up from the bed, he stalked into the closet to change his own clothes, muttering about a teasing ass alpha and he smiled hearing Cas laugh at him. The sound was something he craved, knowing his mate was happy, carefree, and enjoying himself. They had both had hard lives before they found each other and he made sure to spoil his mate as much as Cas spoiled him.

After putting on his own favorite t-shirt (white with an omega and alpha symbol on it) and some relaxed jean shorts, he grabbed Cas' present before walking back out to find his mate curled up in a chair kissing and nuzzling Rufus. Who knew such a sight could make him feel so mushy, damn sappy alpha.

He walked over to sit with his mate (Cas had made sure that most of their chairs were large enough for two large men to snuggle in) and cat. Running his hand over the orange tabby cat's back and tail he tried to keep his nervousness from his scent as he handed Cas a small box. When the alpha began picking open the wrapping paper (he had tried to bribe Crowley to wrap it but the ass just showed him where the gift wrapping room was, which what? He'd lived here for five years and still hadn't been in every room) he grabbed Rufus to have something to do with his hands.

"Oh, Beloved. It's perfection, just like you." He could feel his ears burning with a blush as Cas pulled out the watch.

He had searched for months before finding what he was looking for; it had to be perfect for his alpha. It was a silver pocket watch on a chain, but the special part was the fact that it was a Russian antique that he had the jeweler engrave with the words "always, yours" in Russian, along with their wedding date.

"I'll wear it every day, Darling Dean." He wrapped his arms around Cas, letting Rufus go hang out by the AutoChef, when he heard the emotions overcoming his mate. They could stay right here until their company showed up. Cas needed him and he could update his board in the morning. Compromise was a good thing.

 

About an hour later, Crowley announced Sam and Gabe over the intercom, then informed them he would be out for the rest of the night. They walked downstairs holding hands (after they programmed the cat his tuna), to find his brother and his best friend stumbling through the door laughing and holding on to each other.

"Are you two drunk?" He glared at them. Dean wanted to be drunk too, damn it.

"No! Hello, loves!" Gabriel was bouncing up and down in his wedge heeled boots that were neon pink, obviously to go with his neon green shorts and crop top. Were his eyes bleeding again?

Dean was pretty sure Gabe had dressed just as outrageously ever since he had met him, but at least with his brother designing his mate's clothing these days, Gabe wasn't at risk of actually showing his bits and bobs when he went out. Sammy was standing there with his arm around the omega's waist grinning like a psycho, yeah there was something going on for sure. He was about to question the pair more when Cas pinched him gently on his side, which was Cas' signal to "behave, fucker."

"Welcome, would you like a drink? I believe Crowley has left us a tray of his nibbles in the den, as well." Dean knew it was silly but he was so proud at how easy Cas had accepted Gabriel as family and Sammy once they had gotten the results showing that he _was_ in fact the brother Dean never knew about. Sammy had never known that Dean existed either, but those thoughts weren't for a fun night with family.

"Come outside! We have your anniversary present!" Dean was getting dizzy with all the bouncing Gabe was doing.

He stepped up to his brother  pulling him into a hug but Gabe danced his way out the door when he went to hug the colorful omega. Huh....something was definitely rotten in Denmark. And why was that even a saying? He looked at his brother for answers but when the freakishly tall alpha just walked out the door, he turned to look at Cas as if he would have the answers. He just shrugged at Dean and motioned him to the door.

Stepping outside, Dean was still confused. Gabe was standing next to a new, but fashioned as old, RV, and he was _still freaking bouncing._

"Um....huh?" was all he could get out as he and Cas walked down the stairs, stopping to look at the monstrosity that was parked in front of their home.

"This is your anniversary present! We're gonna take a road trip! Just the four of us on the road, headed to Mardi Gra. It'll be amazing." Gabe was so happy he was screeching.

Dean could kinda get behind the idea. Open road with his family, Mardi Gra, getting drunk, tossing out beads (or catching them...hehe) and po' boys. Hell yeah! He made his way to step inside the RV when Gabe stopped him.

"Hug me, Bestie." He looked down at his friend.

"Why? You didn't want to hug me a minute ago?" he sassed.

"Hug me now, Bestie." Gabriel insisted with a huge smile on his face.

"Fine." Dean grabbed his friend and pulled him into a hug, jumping in surprise when Gabe shoved his head into his neck.

"What the..." Dean ran out of words, his brain derailed.

"Yep," Gabe began, popping the p, "my Moonpie knocked me up! There's gonna be a mini-me." And Gabriel began bouncing again, bringing Dean along for the ride.

  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

 

 

Dean was still in shock (and a bit horrified) over the fact that Sammy and Gabe were going to have a pup, but also that his bestie wanted him to be in the room when it was born. He wasn't sure he could handle it, but there was no telling Gabriel "no" and that was before the pregnancy hormones, which were in full force already.

They had all walked through the RV, finding it extremely spacious inside and while it would take some getting used to it, they agreed that they could handle it for a week. Plus, ya' know, _Mardi Gras_! Gabriel had been years before and assured them that they would love it (Of course, he had also told Dean that he would love his specialty drink he named "Loki" and he had never gotten more drunk in his life. Dean just knew that the lime green drink was gonna be bad on the way back up and it was...yuck).

He had been lost in his thoughts when Cas nudged a glass of wine in his hand with a questioning look in his eyes. Leaning up to kiss the alpha's chin in thanks, he winked at him to let him know he was fine before he turned to see Gabriel shoving the pigs-in-a-blanket in his mouth, two or three at a time.

"Dude! Don't choke yourself, there's plenty." For as long as he had known him, Gabe always had a huge appetite (comes from being hungry so much in his youth), but this was borderline nauseating.

"Leave him alone, Dean. He was nervous about telling you guys so he didn't eat dinner," Sammy admonished.

"Why were you nervous, doofus?" he asked the other omega.

"Well, I was nervous about telling Cas, my financial backer, as well as my brother in law, and my bestie who happens to be terrified of anything to do with pups," Gabe snarked as he scooped up another helping of Crowley's scrumptious seven-layer taco dip with a handful of homemade corn chips.

"I...well...yeah, OK," he muttered not really able to deny his fear of pups. Dean leaned a bit into Cas when the alpha began petting through his hair from his seat on the arm of Dean's chair.

"Gabriel there's no reason to worry about me as family or in business. We can always work around the time you need. Actually, your pregnancy will go over well with your fans. You know they love anything you do. Combine that with you and your alpha? It sends them over the moon! You will always have my support, Gabriel." Before his mate even finished speaking, he had an armful of weeping, pregnant omega and he was sending Dean an S.O.S. look that he was choosing to ignore. He knew nothing about how to deal with crying, either.

Dean still wasn't surprised that Cas just _gently_ plopped Gabriel in his lap and then the two (cowardly!) alphas muttered something about something and ran from the room. He patted his bestie on the back and kinda muttered 'there there' and that was the extent of his knowledge on how to comfort someone. He could comfort Cas, yeah, of course, but he was mate and that shit was not necessarily easy but it was a base instinct. Dean knew that as an omega he was _supposed_ to be able to comfort and nurture, but his childhood held precious little of that, so he was clueless really.

"Gabe, man...I don't know what you need, Dude. Tell me and I'll do it, but I'm clueless." He hated to see his friend this way and truly felt helpless.

"Just hold me and let me cry, Deanie-Beanie," he wailed into Dean's chest.

"That I can do, Pain-in-my-ass." And he would, for as long as he needed or until he had to pee.

 

An hour later found Dean getting changed for bed, exhausted from his long day and the whiplash of emotions that Gabriel had put them through. They were gonna be uncles as well as godparents, and didn't _that_ scare the crap out of both of them. Dean wasn't the only one living here who was scared of the thought of pups. He and Cas hadn't had the best of examples when they were young and both were terrified of doing damage to young ones. Not the type of damage that was done to them, but still. One wrong move and you've got a pup with a marble shoved up their nose and you're on your way to the E.R. with doctors looking at you sideways for not watching the pup every second of the day.

Shaking his head to clear _that_ image brought him back to thinking about his alpha, who was taking a quick shower before they crashed for the night. They had both checked their computers before calling it a night, but nothing else had come through about the case. Dean had put in a request to Jody, the city's assistant D.A., to open Shandi's juvie record so he could get official confirmation of her being in the system. He just said he needed to confirm an anonymous tip and he knew that Commissioner Shurley would make sure it got through with no questions asked.

He had called Benny and left a voicemail to get back with him in the morning about Shandi. Dean had been a bit perturbed when the call went straight to voicemail until Cas reminded him it was two a.m. and most sane people were already in bed. Before he had hung up, Cas had grabbed the phone and told Benny that he and his mate, Alfie, should come over for dinner soon. Sneaky son of a so-n-so hung up before Dean could erase that part. It wasn't that he didn't like Benny or Alfie; he truly did. He just wasn't good at the small talk that was supposed to happen at friendly dinners. Dean was confident in talking about murders, past or present, with no problem, but to talk about 'how was your day, save any patients, cure anyone's sex issues,' that just gave him the heebie-jeebies. Also, there was the fact that he had almost hooked up with Benny (before he had met Cas, but still) and everyone knew it and was fine with it. He didn't feel any attraction to the burly alpha anymore, but he wouldn't want to hang out with some omega that Cas had almost banged.

The thought actually brought out a growl from his inner omega as it began to pace. He felt the need to mark his alpha and he was gonna give into the desire, exhausted or not. Dean snuck back into his closet even though he could still hear Cas singing a song that he recognized but didn't know the words to, as he was singing in Russian. He really needed to put more effort into learning his mate's native tongue. The thought made him bust out in giggles: "native tongue."

 

Dean went to his lingerie chest (the first one, since he now had two!), and pulled out the first pair of panties that he had worn for his alpha. They were a rose-gold, silk pair that had ruffles around the waist and legs. The front had a comfy pouch to hold his cock and the back was just the ruffles from the legs that left his ass bare. Yeah, he was ready for his alpha now, and just then he heard Cas call his name.

"Be right there, Alpha," he called as he checked out his ass one last time, giving himself a thumbs up.

"I thought you were sleeping naked, Dean." He could hear the whine in Cas' voice, telling him just how tired he was.

"I am," he called out. "But I'm not quite ready to sleep yet, Cas." He smirked when Cas saw what he was wearing, and grinned wider when the alpha hurried to sit at the foot of the bed and motioned to him with grabby hands.

He made sure to put some extra attitude in his walk and slowed down, making his mate wait just a few seconds more to get his hands on him. Dean purposefully walked towards the other side of the room to turn the lights down and the music on. The song was an oldie but a goody, "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin, and he began swaying to the beat, running his hands down his chest, thumbing his nipples along the way. He slowly danced his way towards his mate but stopped before he was in reach. The whimper Cas let out only brought a smile to his face, but didn't move him any closer.

"Dean, please." The alpha's voice gave away his desire.

"I'm right here, Alpha. Just be patient." He deepened his voice on purpose, knowing what it did to his mate.

Keeping his hips in time to the song, Dean brought his hands back up his sides, dragging the backs of them all along his skin, up his neck until they were raised above his head, keeping in time. He kept them in sync with his hips as he bent his knees, sinking down into a squat before swaying back up to his full height. At that point he opened his eyes, locking them onto Cas who was laser focused on Dean with his hand wrapped around his hard on. He wasn't stroking himself, yet, just holding on.

Slowly he began walking towards Cas. When he stopped he turned his back to him and popped his ass out so Cas could lay his hands on it. He could feel the heat before he felt the skin to skin contact that they were both craving. Dean could smell the scent of coffee along with Cas' normal whiskey and honey, letting him know how aroused his alpha was and he knew that his own apples and honey was joined by the scent of ginger letting his mate know he was getting slick for him.

The ginger got stronger when Cas pulled his ass cheeks apart so he could see the evidence of Dean's arousal. He moaned as he felt Cas' thumbs pull a bit at his opening, and as another drop of slick was released, his alpha licked it up before it could escape his crack. Fuck...yeah. This was exactly what he wanted: to cover Cas in his slick, marking him in his scent and letting everyone know that this alpha was _taken_. Rationally, he knew that Cas would shower before work in the morning, but right now his inner omega was desperate and he had learned to give into it.

He let out a moan when his alpha rumbled at him before Cas began licking and sucking at his rim. Dean's knees about gave out upon hearing the alpha swallowing his slick, but luckily Cas knew how he reacted and he had him up and laid out on the bed, the whole while keeping his face buried in his crack.

"Holy fu...Alpha!" He was a sucker for Cas' alpha strength; it was so fucking hot to be manhandled by his mate.

"Please please please please..." he keened and kept begging. He needed to cum so badly with his alpha's tongue in his ass.

"What has you so needy, Darling Dean?" He bucked when Cas replaced his tongue with his finger only to have them both inside him after he finished speaking.

"Was thinking about...mmmm, I was thinking about you and the omegas you were with in the past." He hated that he still got jealous over Cas' past, even though the alpha had never really had a long term relationship. It had been "just a friends with benefits arrangement" with two omegas and one beta over the years.

"Omega, my Beloved. You are the one and only 'til I draw my last breath and beyond." The gentle kisses Cas placed on his thighs gave him goosebumps.

"I know, Alpha. Same," he muttered into the pillow he had his face buried in before shaking his ass wanting Cas to get back to eating him out, and boy, did he.

 

Dean could only hang on for the ride (ha!) as his mate brought him barreling towards his orgasm. He propped himself on his elbows so he could look back over his shoulder to watch as Cas fucked him with his tongue and now two fingers. Dean reached back and grabbed the alpha by the back of the head so he could pull him in tighter as he rolled his hips again, pushing his ass onto his tongue. He began a slow grind on Cas' talented tongue, enjoying the slide of it going in and out of him, his finger grazing his prostate, along with the rasp of his mate's stubble on the sensitive inner cheeks. Dean loved feeling it the next morning after Cas ate him out so well, but even better if he could still feel the knotting he was hoping to get after he rode out an orgasm on his face.

"Cas, I'm gonna come.....please. Please don't stop." He was biting his lip so hard he was surprised he couldn't taste blood.

"I'm not stopping you, Omega of my Blood." Dean knew that his alpha was deep into their bond when he broke out that name and he loved it.

"Fuck...just a bit more, Alpha." When Cas rubbed his prostate one more time, Dean felt his cock release all over the bed.

Just as he was beginning to catch his breath (and yeah, it took a minute since his alpha was so damn talented, thank the Gods), he was being manhandled onto his back.

 

Looking up into the blue eyes that had first pierced the walls Dean had kept around his heart, he couldn't resist pulling Cas down to him by the back of the neck and kissing him. Call him kinky if you want, but one of the things he really got off on was tasting his slick from his alpha's mouth. He licked at the plump, slightly chapped lip asking for entrance that Cas granted him with a groan. The alpha knew what he was after and damn, did he let him have it. He backed off letting Dean take the lead, sliding his tongue into Cas' mouth and running it along the roof before trying to capture the alpha's own tongue with his. His mate wasn't playing fair though, keeping his tongue away from Dean causing the omega to let out a whine. It did the trick because instantly Cas had chased Dean back into his own mouth, letting Dean suckle on him while Cas enjoyed exploring each inch of the omega's mouth. Fuck, Cas was the best kisser, like ever, and while Dean hadn't kissed many people, he'd stun anyone who said Cas wasn't the best.

"Dean, please." He could hear the desperation beginning in Cas' voice.

"Please what, Alpha." He put just enough emphasis on the title to get Cas to settle his hips against Dean and start sliding their erections together.

"Let me have you, любовник." Son of a bitch! When Cas called him Lover, well...just damn, it did things to him. Good, horny-type things.

Spreading his legs a bit more to give his mate room to move, he wrapped his legs around his waist, crossing his ankles against his mate's ass. As he brought him back into a kiss, Dean took the hand that wasn't gripping the back of his head through Cas' longer hair and began guiding the alpha's large (like, holy batcrap, he would have been perfect for porn) cock into his opening. The way was eased by the copious amounts of slick that was continuously leaking from his hole. Feeling the head of his cock pop through his rim brought a gasp to his lips. Damn, that was so hot.

"Caaaaaaaas......fuck me!" he ordered.

The alpha grabbed him by the hips to tilt him up just a bit and it was on. Fuck, he really needed this. Dean started digging his heels into the fabulous ass of his alpha, probably leaving bruises, again. Cas never stopped pounding while he grabbed a pillow and quickly shoved it under Dean's hips. Every thrust in and Cas was nailing his prostate, every withdrawal and he was tugging on his rim with ridge of the head of his cock. Gods, this man could fuck! Dean couldn't keep the grunts silent any more as Cas continued to slam into his ass. He had to raise one hand to the headboard to keep from hitting his head. They had started fucking in the middle of the huge bed, but he was now at the headboard with just a few strokes. Fucking-A...he was a lucky omega. Taking his free hand, he began stroking his own neglected cock that had been getting some friction from being between them, but he knew Cas got off on watching him stroke it. It only took a few strokes before he was shooting his second load of the night and as soon as he was done, Cas shoved his knot inside him and began painting his insides with his cum. He could come from that feeling alone if he hadn't _just_ gotten off a second time.

He ran his hands up and down his alpha's trembling arms as he was trying to keep himself up on his hands, keeping his weight off Dean. Screw that, Dean tickled him on the inside of his elbows causing Cas to fall on him.

"Oof," he teased as he kissed the alpha on the tip of his nose, letting him know it was OK.

"You are my everything, Omega of my Blood." He shivered when Cas whispered in his ear.

"No mushy stuff, Cas, sleeeeeep." He closed his eyes, hoping his mate took the hint.

"Sladkikh snov." He had a sappy alpha and he silently wished him sweet dreams too.

  


Dean took the _extremely_ long way to work so he could enjoy Baby 2.0 and all her charms. When he walked out the front door she was there waiting for him (how Crowley did it _every_ time was a mystery he didn't care to try and solve) shining in the early morning sun. The rearview camera was excellent as he left the gates with Cas behind him in the Aston Martin he loved and he could just about count his alpha's eyelashes with the hyperfocus the camera had. He tried out the voice commands to tell the camera to take still photos, to take thirty seconds of video, to zoom onto the license plates, and to do facial recognition on Cas' face.

Dean belly laughed with the car's computer informed him that the human behind him was 'your alpha, ya' idjit' in Bobby's voice.

They split off for their seperate locations at the first intersection with his sappy alpha blowing him kisses. Once Cas was out of sight, Dean took Baby 2.0 airborne. He needed to check it out, right? It didn't take but a second for him to talk himself into flipping the switch and, holy shit, was it smooth. She didn't hesitate, shudder, or lurch. She just went up and forward letting him drive over the cars in front of him and go on his way. It was just about orgasm-inducing, but he controlled himself, barely.

After he got to the next empty intersection he switched to land travel and made his way to the freeway. He wiggled in his seat (that was one of those form fitting ones) as he used the voice command to call Jo at her desk and have her reserve a conference room and make sure that Charlie and Bobby were informed of the time. The audio and visuals on the call were so clear he was able to tell Jo that she had a pimple on her nose, making her go cross-eyed trying to look for it. He disconnected the call and had a good giggle while he settled back (after engaging autopilot) with the coffee from the mini-autochef and just enjoyed the view. Soon Dean couldn't help but drop his coffee in to the convenient holder and take over the driving again. He definitely had control issues but fuck it, he had an _awesome_ car and he was gonna enjoy it.

 

Dean walked through his bullpen checking in with his detectives on how their cases were progressing, giving advice where needed or just an ear to hear a theory. Seeing that everything was running as smooth as it could be, he walked into his office motioning for Jo to join him when she was off the phone. He programmed them coffee and sat down to check his messages...and tried to boot up his computer, who decided to be an asshole. Again.

"Son of a bitch! Lieutenant, Winchester, Dean Badge #176925! You know who I am, you piece of shit!" He knew he looked like a loon yelling at a machine (again), but damn it, he had been having such a good morning. Just as he was about to drop kick the stupid machine off his desk, Jo walked in.

"Hey, now! We agreed you wouldn't abuse the machines, Winchester!" He backed off as she came around, gently wrapped her hand on the side of his computer and then nodded at him.

 

" **Welcome, Lieutenant, Winchester, Dean Badge #176925.....waiting."**

 

Dean literally growled as he sat back down and scrolled through the reports that had come in from the uniforms that were canvassing the vics neighborhood.

"Whatcha got, Jo?" He motioned for her to sit, letting out a snort when she drank half her coffee before starting her report.

"Conference room A in thirty. Everyone has been notified and confirmed. Assistant D.A. Mills had confirmed for teleconference call." When Dean groaned and thumped his head on his desk, she snickered before continuing, "I'll make sure and set up the call, no worries, Loo."

Dean mock-glared at her since she only used the nickname Loo when she was feeling feisty. He had told her many times that in their professional life he was fine with Winchester since most cops were addressed by their last name (some insisted on their rank too), but he didn't with his team. In their personal life he had told her it was fine for her to use his first name, but she rarely did.

He dismissed her to go set up the board in the conference room and he took the time to gather his notes and send a slightly dirty, thank-you text to his alpha, telling him he was "so gonna get lucky again tonight" because his car really turned him on. Dean gave his wrist communicator a soft smile when Cas responded with a green heart emoji. The sappy alpha loved the green heart because he said it reminded him of his omega's eyes, which is the same reason that Dean's text signature to his mate was always a blue heart. Fuck. They were ridiculous.

 

When Dean walked into the conference room, Charlie and Jo were at the side table whispering at each other and he could smell that it was dirty.

"Alright, knock it off and turn on the fans, damn it!" he growled out.

The fans that were throughout all public buildings were a necessity to keep scents from becoming overwhelming. Most people wore scent blockers (especially unmated omegas) but they could and would wear off at the most inopportune times.

He walked over and nudged the pair apart only to discover  Cas' coffee and fresh donuts from his favorite bakery on the table. What the hell!? Dean fired off another text to Cas about spoiling cops, and that there was perfectly 'fine' fake coffee and pastries in the vending machines if they wanted. He cringed at calling them 'fine' but the alpha would get his point. He received a one word response of 'Family', sappy fucking alpha.

Dean heard Bobby coming (one of his super powers was recognizing who was coming by their stride) and the next instant he realized that Commissioner Shurley was with him.

"Attention!" he quietly ordered, just in time for Charlie, Jo, and himself to stand tall.

"Commissioner, Captain Singer," he greeted the men.

"Stand down," Commissioner Shurley ordered. "Lieutenant, we have a second murder."

Dean felt his heart drop. Someone else died because he didn't do his job and find the murderer before they struck again. Son of a bitch.

  
  
  
  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, holiday weekend.  
> Also....  
> ******TRIGGER WARNING******  
> Dean's childhood abuse is discussed in this chapter. I am not graphic in the description but it deals with childhood rape. Please take care of yourself.  
> Please.  
> 💙💚Roo

 

 

Dean dragged himself into his office and closed the door; he needed a few minutes to himself before addressing his team. They had spent a few hours at the crime scene and there were still officers canvassing the neighborhood, but everything he could do there was done. It was time to set up a second board and see if the labs had found anything from the evidence. Jo had come back to Central to get logged in and reports sent to the team members who wouldn't be in until the morning: i.e. Donna, Jody, Commissioner Shurley and Commander Novak.

He thought about stretching out on the floor for a ten-minute power nap, then decided coffee would do the job better. He'd take the same ten minutes to berate himself for not catching the killer before they struck again, then after that he'd have to let it go in order to be able to give his all to the victims. Dean sipped his coffee as he _tried_ to pace his office but it was about three steps, turn, three steps, turn. Not very satisfying pacing, but he'd get it out of his system. Hearing his office door opening (and everyone knew to knock on the rare occasions that it was closed), he knew it was his mate. Luckily he hadn't locked it, so Cas didn't have to pull out his _extremely illegal_ lock-pick set in a building full of cops.

"Omega," was all Cas whispered before he barrelled into his arms, letting his alpha comfort him for a moment.

"Saw you at the scene just as I left. Jo said Commissioner Shurley called you in to help Bobby with the electronics." He left his face buried in his neck as he waited for Cas to fill him in.

"Hmm, yes he did. We didn't find any overrides on his security system, which is one of mine." Dean nodded, letting him know that Dean knew it was from Cas' company, meaning it was an above par security system.

"There was a blocked number, voice-only call from a man saying that he would be running late but would be there soon. System shows that your vic then opened the back door for approximately twelve seconds about an hour later." Cas snagged his coffee cup to help himself to the last of it.

Humming in frustration, Dean removed himself from the safety of Cas' arms and programmed them both another cup, since he wasn't sharing this next one.

"Dean, no more after this one, please." He hated admitting that Cas was ever right about cutting off his caffeine at a reasonable time, but he knew that it made sense.

"Yeah, yeah. Keep talking while I savor my last cup of coffee for the night." He smirked at his mate, showing that he was teasing and acknowledging that he agreed.

"Alright, onward." The alpha leaned his cute hiney on the corner of Dean's desk as he brought his thoughts together. "Charlie was working on the house computer system as I left with Bobby to come here for your meeting. We brought in the personal computer and a fancy wrist unit similar to yours, but we found no everyday unit and his file says he has one, similar to your first vic. Bobby's in your conference room running some programs on the personal and the wrist unit. I'll run some searches on the unregistered on this vic when we get home, and see if there's any connection between them besides their murderer." Dean could see the instant that Cas scented the guilt coming from him.

"Cas, don't," he whispered when his mate got up to comfort him again. "I can't handle any more comfort right now, please." He tried hard to keep the tear from falling, so he closed his eyes tightly.

"Very well, Darling Dean. However, once we are home..." he let the words left unsaid from his mate soothe him.

"Yeah, good. Come on Alpha, let's get this meeting going so we can head home." He grabbed his files along with his coffee and headed out of the office, knowing without a doubt that Cas always had his back. He was awesome that way.

 

Dean paced the conference room (bigger, more satisfying) as he listened to Charlie give her report via teleconference; she was still at the crime scene sifting through the house systems. The younger alpha was getting a bit frustrated that every file in the system was password locked.

"Even if he wanted to change what time his alarm goes off, or change his coffee order on the auto-chef, or tell his android to sweep again in the bathroom, he has to enter, physically enter, a password." He could hear a faint growl to her voice which caused a blush on Jo's cheeks.

"Quit growling, I don't need to smell Harvelle being all _happy_ like that! You need more time, or someone else's brain to help you, Detective Bradbury?" he questioned her.

"No, Lieutenant. I'm gonna bring in the server and log it in. I can't crack it in the morning if night shift doesn't get anywhere." He glanced at Bobby and was appeased when the Captain mouthed "Luna," knowing that the detective was almost as good as Charlie at her job.

No one was on par with Bobby here at Central, or Cas. He'd pick their brains tomorrow, making a note to have the morning briefing at home, which would give him a chance to get some actual sleep tonight and his team would enjoy the spread Crowley would (no doubt) put out for them to eat. Speaking of, Dean poked out a text to the irritating vermin as he was looking at the crime scene photos.

 

**Team meeting at home tomorrow, food?**

_Of course, I enjoy feeding those who enjoy it._

 

Stupid snarky, Crowley. He knew Dean loved cooking and he really enjoyed making Dean say it, but now wasn't the time. He was focused on the photo of the card that was left for him. It was shocking since it was all about Shandi, and not the vic it was pinned on. The male vic had been identified as Carlos Vasquez, a fifty year old professor of ethics at Columbia University who was well off, and his will showed that everything was left to his ex-wife, Milla Vasquez. His file said that the male omega listed himself as asexual, so Dean was curious about the alpha ex. Not many alphas could deal with an asexual omega unless they, themselves, classified the same way.

Dean was waiting for the vic's ex to arrive, having sent out a squad car to bring her to Central. It was always safe to inform an alpha of a loss in a controlled environment; omegas too. The loss of someone could cause both subgenders to lose control much faster than a beta would. He didn't actively suspect Milla Vasquez of murder, but he wouldn't overlook her or the information she could give to their investigations.

Interrogation room C was waiting for them, as well as a couple of _large_ alpha uniforms. Dean understood the need on one hand, and on the other hand, he hated it. He could take down most men or women--subgender didn't matter--but if an alpha hulked out, he didn't think he could protect himself and Jo at the same time, and Cas certainly wouldn't be too happy. Eh, just another twitch to his eye, so he'd deal with it to find the murderer. His eye also twitched now with the annoyance of wanting another cup of coffee, damn it.

 

About an hour later Dean was informed that Milla Vasquez was in the interrogation room, waiting for him. Dean nodded at Uniform Parker and gathered his files before smacking Harvelle on the back of the head, motioning her to follow. He stepped up to Cas. His head remained tilted as the alpha looked up from the computer to which he and Bobby were glued.

"Yes, may I help you?" Bobby snickered at the teasing lilt to Cas' voice, making Dean _accidentally_ hit him in the head with his files.

"Going to go do the family notification, then after that we'll head home. Let everyone know that the a.m. briefing will be at my home office and Crowley's cooking. 0800." He went to walk past his mate when he suddenly stood to place a small kiss on his forehead and told him to be careful.

Dean glanced around to make sure that no one witnessed the kiss. Not that he was against PDAs, but not in Central. Damn alpha knows it too, but Dean recognized that Cas worries, so, yeah...compromise. Fuck.

 

Cas found him shortly after the interview was over, Dean was kicking the vending machine for refusing A: his badge number, B: his tokens, and C: to jump out the window when Dean told it to, and now it was threatening to call for a uniform.

"Dean, stop! Abusing the poor thing won't get you what you want, which is?" He tried to not really go off when the machine took the alpha's token _on the first try_.

"Cherry Fizz," he ground out through clenched teeth.

He grabbed the drink Cas offered him and stalked off towards his office to gather his things so he could go home. He needed home: he needed to snuggle with his mate and his cat so he could forget that he just broke a woman's heart. There was no alpha rage, just a devastated woman who was still in love with her ex-husband. Dean was happy to know that there was no way Milla had murdered her ex herself, as she had been performing surgery at the time and he didn't suspect that she had anyone else do it.

When he had informed her that Carlos was dead, murdered, she had collapsed so quickly, the uniform was lucky to catch her. The medics were called to check her out and the on-call doctor determined that she had been, in fact, feeling her mating being severed, as he suspected. Divorce or not, Milla and Carlos were Truemates. He would talk to her tomorrow morning when she was cleared by the doctors at the hospital. A severed mating called for round the clock supervision for a while.

"Dean?" He startled from his thoughts hearing Cas whisper his name.

"Yeah, I'm almost ready, Cas." He began shoving files in his messenger bag.

"Where were you just now, Omega?" Cas put his bag around his neck, then wrapped Dean in his arms again.

"Just with Milla having to deal with a severed mating bond. I really wanna know why they divorced, because she was nowhere near over him. She was still so in love with him, and I...." he lost his thoughts as he just let the sadness seep into him. He really wanted to leave it all here, but he was never good at that, although Cas made him better so much sooner.

"Come along, Beloved. Let's go home so we can get some rest. Yes, yes I know, after we start searches running, but you're on fumes, Omega. Let's go." He let Cas usher him out the door. After settling into the passenger seat of his own car (over protective alpha just because he yawned through the entire elevator ride), he was asleep before Cas even backed out of his parking spot in the garage.

 

Dean woke sometime later when Cas was walking up the stairs with Dean slung over his shoulder. What's an omega to do but grab the gorgeous, plump, fine ass that was in his face, grab on with both hands and make a 'honking noise'? So he did. He also noticed Rufus following Cas, meowing his demand for snacks and affection. Dean began wiggling the fingers of one hand getting the cat's attention and making Rufus jump up and head-butt Cas in the ass.

"Really, Dean? Are you having fun back there?" Dean hummed an affirmative answer, keeping up his game with Rufus.

Just as Dean realized they had entered the bedroom, Cas turned and dumped him on the bed, and he bounced, causing him to erupt into giggles. It wasn't really that funny, but he would take the laughs were he could get them, something else that Cas and he learned together.

"Alright, it was fun while it lasted. Let's get your searches started and I'll do what I need to do. Say, fifteen minutes and we'll meet back here for some sleep?" he asked as he put his stunner, cuffs, and badge in the ivory dish Cas had bought for him just for that purpose when they had mated.

Turning when all he got from Cas was a grunt, he was met with the best view ever: his alpha stripping his suit off. Normally Cas was very particular about hanging his clothes up after wearing them, but tonight he was tossing it all about the room, letting Dean know how tired his mate was. He sidestepped Rufus so he could step up behind Cas and wrap his arms around him, kissing across his shoulders. Pushing his hand around his sides and up his chest as Cas leaned his head back to rest against his neck. There were definite advantages to being a bit taller than his mate, and he used every one of them.

"Alpha?" he questioned as he gently bit Cas behind his ear.

"I'm fine, любимый. Well, I will be," he admitted when Dean gave him _the look_. The 'I'm calling bullshit on what you just said' look.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get this done, then I could use a bit of a snuggle, OK?" He bit his mate one last time before backing away to change his clothes.

"Sounds heavenly, Omega. I could use one, myself." He winked at the blue-eyed pain in his ass, love of his life, soulmate.

"Well, you know me. I'm down most times for it as long as..." he actually waited for Cas to finish laughing before the alpha finished his thought for him.

"Yes, yes. As long as I never tell a soul 'cuz you'd have to kick my ass." The laughter made his mate a little brighter if only for a few minutes.

"Damn straight. Now, let's get this done!" He pumped his fist in the air and marched into his closet to put on his favorite, light-blue, sleep pants, and deciding to go shirtless, since it seemed he and his alpha were in need of some skin on skin contact after tonight.

 

Dean knew he was in a nightmare, but it didn't stop the terror. He was in one of the many shitty motel rooms in which he had lived when he was little, and this one seemed to be one of the worst he could remember. The bugs in this one were vicious biters, more so than most. If he was correct,  this was the motel before the end, before his life changed forever and he no longer was a victim: he became a murderer, and he'd do it over again in a heartbeat.

 

Nightmare over, Dean had spent the last hour in their shower with Cas wrapped around him as the hot water steamed up the whole bathroom. He couldn't get warm, or get close enough, even though he was wrapped around Cas like a koala, while his poor mate was subject to sitting on the tile floor. He couldn't stop his tears or the words "I'm sorry" from escaping every few seconds. Cas just held on, letting his strong arms support him, his scent comfort him and his lips caressing words of love on Dean's skin.

The scent of his terror was finally being washed away, not necessarily from the water, but from the love of his alpha. That type of nightmare snuck up on him when he was feeling really badly about himself, so he should have realized it would hit tonight. The second murder happened because he hadn't found the killer yet, and while everyone (and to an extent his rational mind) knew that the murder was only the fault of the perp, Dean was really good at always finding fault with himself.

"Darling, Dean, let us banish this like Donna taught us. Tell me, then we'll both have a soother, and before you object, I will make sure you are up in time for your briefing in the morning. I swear it to you." He shook his head; he did not want to do that, even though he would.

"Soother first, please." He spoke so softly that he was surprised Cas could hear him, but the alpha nodded before standing, while still holding Dean wrapped around him.

Cas sat him in the tub (seriously, when did he fill the tub?) before padding into their bedroom, not bothering to dry off. Rufus lounged at the edge of the tub so he could nuzzle into the back of Dean's neck. When he didn't run away after Dean rubbed his head with a wet hand, Dean realized he must have scared him as badly as he had scared Cas. He could hear him talking to Crowley, which told him that his screaming was extreme this time. Normally he didn't wake him since his suite of rooms was on the lowest level of the house. Cas could have buzzed him he supposed, to make a special mocha caramel soother for him; he may have _issues_ with Crowley, but the man cared. Dean was still shivering and made the decision to add more hot water to the bath. He looked up to see his mate walking back in with a tall glass with iced soother in his hand and his brows furrowed looking at Dean.

"Still cold, Omega?" He nodded his head as he sat forward, letting Cas know he wanted him to get in behind him; he needed his alpha around him. Dean was glad that Cas gave him a few minutes for the soother to relax him and he never stopped holding him. He guessed he was ready to talk. Crap.

"It was _the_ motel, the last one. I was sitting on the bed watching cartoons and I was hungry. Alistair hadn't been around for a day or two and I hadn't eaten since he left. He had thrown a peanut butter sandwich on the bed before he left with the instructions to be quiet or I'd regret it." He pulled Cas' arms tighter around him.

"I believed him because he made sure I regretted everything. I tried to be so good, but he always found something to punish me for. I was happy for the days he was too drunk and would just smack me around, but if he wasn't drunk or high, then the punishment was worse." his voice was barely above a whisper but he knew the alpha heard him. Dean felt Cas running his hand through his hair, the other pushed against his heart.

"I'm so proud of you, возлюбленный. So fucking proud of what you survived, of who you've become and _yes_ , I'm extremely proud of the fact that you killed your rapist." Cas' words calmed him a bit, but he still needed to tell the nightmare. Damn you, Donna and your good advice.

 

"The motel was freezing since the heater wasn't working and I couldn't tell anyone, 'cuz he'd have killed me. No matter how many times he had raped me, I knew I had to live, and that there was something better waiting for me." He took the tissues that Cas handed him, blowing his nose before continuing. He wanted to go back to their bed and rest, so he had to finish.

 

"I had decided to sneak a couple of crackers from his duffle bag and I found a gun. I was so excited to see it, since I had never touched a gun before and I was only eight years old. It was thrilling. I was still looking at it when I heard Al cussing at the door because the key wouldn't go in the lock. He sounded drunk but I was petrified because I had snooped in his bag and I was holding his gun!" He knew he was still shaking even after the soother, but he couldn't stop.

 

"Get the last out, Beloved. Come on, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere." He took a deep breath, drawing in Cas' scent and let it settle him even more.

 

"I ran into the bathroom with the gun. I hurried and sat on the toilet, keeping my hand down, out of sight so he wouldn't see the gun. I was praying he would yell, which he always did, and then pass out. He came in and began bragging that on Monday--this was a Friday I came to find out later--I would be going to "my alpha" and he was gonna _enjoy_ me for the weekend before he gave me to the man that bought me." He cried still for the little boy he had been. He had a vague memory of a sweet, blonde mother, a car accident and having many tests in the hospital.

But Dean also remembered when John showed up (one of the few times the alpha was ever around), and took him from the hospital, and made him go with Alistair.

When he heard that the beta had sold him to an alpha, Dean knew that if he didn't do something he would die. It was bad enough he had been living with beatings and being raped since he was five years old, but if an alpha knotted him while he was so young, he would die. One thing about being alone for days is that he watched a lot of television and knew things about matings that most kids didn't.

While Al turned away and began taking his clothes off, Dean decided that he had reached his limit. He wanted to live, goddamn it. He pulled the gun up, clicked the safety back (again, thanks to television) and he shot the abusive beta in the back of the head. He was aiming for his back but the head worked just fine.

"I just sat on the toilet with the gun pointed at the floor, waiting for someone to come. He had always said if I was too loud the cops would come and then he would have to punish me. So I knew they were going to come and I was ready. For whatever else happened, I was ready." He pulled himself from Cas' arms to stand up.

Dean let Cas dry him off with a large, soft, warm towel before the alpha tucked them into bed with Dean as the little spoon and Rufus curled up under Dean's chin. It was a good place to be and he was so grateful that he had made the choice to live.

  
  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're one day late and although QueenMaire says to blame her, I want to thank her for editing this chapter while she's on holiday. She's awesome that way <3<3

 

 

Cas was good on his word and made sure he was up an hour before his breakfast meeting. It gave him time to enjoy an extremely hot bath with his first cup of coffee. He had such a hard time getting warm after a nightmare, so much so that his alpha had turned on the fireplace with the heat feature when they went back to bed last night. Sipping his sweet coffee, he listened to the normal morning sounds coming from the bedroom: Cas muttering in Russian to Rufus (sounded as if the cat was trying to push the dome cover off the waiting breakfast plates to get to the bacon) along with the soft murmur of the news on the television. Dean knew that Cas probably had been up for a while before he woke him, since the alpha had a lot of overseas (as well as off planet) calls he usually made in the early morning hours.   


Once his coffee mug was empty, Dean decided his time for self-indulgence was over. After going through the drying tub, he marched into the bedroom with a sense of determination that had been absent so far this morning. He only remembered he was completely naked when he heard Cas choke on his coffee. Throwing his mate a wink over his shoulder, he shimmied into his closet to find that his  _ absolutely wonderful _ alpha had lain some clothes on the chaise inside. A dark blue, button-up shirt with a matching, lightweight blazer to go with a pair of light blue jeans and some butt-kicking, black boots. He left the shirt unbuttoned and carried his blazer into the bedroom with him since he didn't want to get his breakfast on his clothes, which he did a lot before he got smart enough to get dressed after eating.

"G'morning, солнечный свет." He kissed Cas' cheek as he sat next to him to help himself to his second cup of coffee. He got a thrill at the blush that came on his alpha's face every time he called him sunshine in the man's native tongue.

"Good morning, Darling Dean." He knew Cas was paying him back, making him blush at his own nickname, sappy alpha.

"How are you feeling, Omega?" He took a moment to _ actually _ think about his reply before he answered him.

"Honestly, I'm exhausted emotionally but I feel rested, loved, and ready to face the day. I have to believe we will make progress today in finding out who is committing the murders, or at least why and how it relates to me." He lifted the warming dome off his plate and did a happy dance in his seat when he saw that there were waffles to go with his pile of bacon.   


"I see that my choices meet with your approval." He turned to smile at his laughing mate, showing off a mouth stuffed full of waffle and maple syrup.

 

Dean was pacing his home office, watching Crowley set up a table he had wheeled in for his team to eat when they arrived. He was flabbergasted at the amount of food and he was laughing at the irritating, short alpha muttering about having to cook a separate breakfast for  _ a certain spoiled omega _ who couldn't eat with his team. While Dean knew that Crowley was aware that he never ate during a meeting here (he was busy briefing his team), he appreciated that he was treating this morning like any other instead of coddling Dean. He didn't think he could take Crowley being directly nice to him. Behind the scenes was good enough for the both of them.

Sitting on the corner of his desk as he watched his team straggling in, reminded him that he wasn't the only one who didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Not surprisingly at all, Bobby was the first to arrive looking as if he had slept in his suit, but that was just about an everyday look for the older alpha. Dean snickered to himself as Bobby made his way straight to the coffee pot. Watching him drink his first cup straight down, then going for an immediate refill gave him the idea to give his mentor a good supply of Cas' coffee for his upcoming birthday. Before he met his alpha, Dean knew he was lucky to remember to even  _ say _ "happy birthday" to his few friends, let alone get them a present, but Cas had changed so much for him, making everything better.   


As if his thoughts summoned him, his mate walked into the room heading directly for Bobby, but Dean noticed that his gaze first flowed over him along with a subtle sniff of the air to check on him. He gave him a small smile, letting him know he was doing the best he could. When he had gotten dressed earlier, he had noticed some severely dark circles highlighting the bags under his eyes. Bad enough that he went to his drawer in the bath vanity and pulled out Rowena's eye serum. Dean would shoot himself before admitting to anyone other than his mate that he did enjoy a face mask once a week along with daily skin care. Even the evil redheaded, beauty guru knew better than to tell his secrets (not because she was afraid of him, but because she really was good at her profession).

Next to walk into his office (and head straight for the coffee) were Charlie and Jo. They both looked at tired as he felt, so he knew that Charlie had stayed at Central working on the home system herself, which meant that Jo probably slept in an on-call room instead of going back to their apartment by herself. Charlie had her messenger bag over her shoulder, which he knew held her laptop plus some 'toys' Cas had gifted to his favorite official hacker, but there was a box sticking out that caught his attention.

"Bradbury! Did you bring it?" He motioned to the box with his coffee mug.

"Yeah, sure did, Loo. Hold on and I'll set it up." She grabbed the coffee that Jo had fixed for her, giving the blonde omega a wink for thanks, then walked over and cleared a space on the table to set up the game.

"See, the way it works is, you deal out the cards after placing a person, place, and weapon card in this envelope. The players then have to make guesses on who killed Mr. Body in which room with which weapon." Dean began looking at the cards as she explained, noting that the first set she handed him was Miss Scarlet in the kitchen with the rope. Fuck, a perp that thinks they're clever.

"So you're saying that the murderer is wanting to play a game with me...huh." He took a sip of coffee as he began thinking of a way to use the information.

It took a minute for his inner omega to get his attention, letting him know that everyone in the room had gone silent and was staring at him. Dean did the mature thing, being the Lieutenant and such, and he stuck his tongue out at them all as he walked to his murder board. He pinned the game cards for Scarlet, rope, and kitchen next to the first vic's information, thinking how much more she deserved than to be a game piece in a sicko's desire to get his attention. Well, they had it and they would soon regret it.

 

 

 

After Commissioner Shurley arrived, his team sat down to eat as he gave his report and Cas ran the computer, putting the information on the screen for all to see as Dean spoke. He went over the facts, keeping things clean and clear and leaving out all speculations. Those would come later. Dean told them that the cardstock that the note addressed to him at the first crime scene was a match to the card left at the second, that had identified Shandi as Miss Scarlet in the kitchen with the rope from the old board game Clue. According to Jo's report, the cardstock was common and sold in over 1000+ stores in the city. The font on the card addressed to him was called "AppleGothic" from a common Macbook laptop. Bobby and Cas were going to work on trying to learn the age of the Macbook since it was one they had never worked on, which made Dean cuss a lot in his head. Moving on, he went over what they knew of the second vic, and as he spoke he pinned the seemingly appropriate cards on the board.

"Our second vic is Carlos Vasquez, a fifty-year-old male omega who was divorced, but not mating-bond broken, with his alpha wife, Milla Vasquez. He was a professor of ethics who listed himself as asexual on his file. Ex is personally in the clear as she was in the middle of surgery when he was killed, but Harvelle will follow up on her today to make sure there's nothing telling us that she hired it out, but it doesn't ring true to me." He took a moment to be silent as he pinned the Professor Plum, dagger, and billiards room cards on the board, letting his team finish their meal.

Turning back to address them again, he was proud to see that they were all looking at the murder board with a sense of purpose. It made him proud of each and every one of them, and he could see Commissioner Shurley looking at them the same way. Before he began handing out assignments, the commissioner stood up.

"Alright, Lieutenant Winchester and team, if there's anything you need that you don't have access to," the alpha made sure to look at each team member, raising an eyebrow at Cas with his statement, "call me. I will get you anything you need. I'll expect a report this evening, and I wish you all good luck. Be safe, and catch this asshole. Also, Lieutenant, I will say this for everyone, you will not be placing yourself as bait without permission and back up, so put a cap on those thoughts and that is an order." He pointed at Dean before walking from the room.   


Son of a bitch, apparently he was easy to read if the looks on his team's faces were to be believed. He knew better than to try and deny it,  _ especially _ with Cas doing his "Dom brow," snarky alpha.

 

Dean asked Charlie to go back to Carlos' home and check on the uniforms to see if they had learned anything new, since she needed to go on site to download something or other. Dean really had a deep-seeded hate for computers, most electronics actually. Jo was going to do background and financials on Milla as well as speak to her friends, family, and some co-workers. Dean was going to go into Central to check in with his other detectives, and see if they needed anything before he went to talk to Milla Vasquez again. He hoped she could give him some insight into her mate that would show a connection to either Shandi or himself. Bobby was gonna ride with him into Central so he could get back to working on the home system while he waited for Charlie and Cas. He wasn't sure what his alpha's plans were yet.

"Cas? A moment?" he asked as he gestured towards the alpha's connecting office. Once inside he closed the door before pushing Cas against it so he could get his mouth on his jaw that had been driving him insane with desire for  _ years _ .

"Omega," Cas growled quietly at him as he tilted his head, giving Dean more room to kiss. Since Cas was into it, Dean stepped back, being the tease that he was.

"Alright, we'll continue that tonight, maybe in the pool, yeah? Are you coming into Central with Bobby?" He straightened his mate's tie since he was the one that ruffled it up.

"Later, I have some of my own to deal with this morning. Of course if something were to break, I will be available immediately." Dean let himself be wrapped in the protective scent Cas was giving off as he kissed him on the forehead. It was one of the alpha's favorite spots to kiss him.

"Good deal. Love you." He slapped Cas on the ass, laughing as he walked back into his office when he heard the 'oof' the man let out.

 

Although he had been gone only a moment, the only remnant of his breakfast meeting left in his office was Bobby drinking coffee while looking at the board. The others were gone along with the food and table, too. Damn, Crowley was quick and efficient, but he'd keep his praise to himself. He poured himself another cup of coffee before leaning against his desk next to Bobby, joining him in looking for answers on the board. Dean kept quiet even though he wanted to ask the older alpha what his thoughts were, but he gave him time to study the evidence. He didn't realize that he was bouncing his leg until Bobby smacked it.

"Sorry," he muttered, embarrassed.   


"Nah, it's alright, Dean. I'm worried about this one," he said as he continued to gaze at the board.

"You don't think we're gonna catch him?" He was shocked at Bobby.

"Not that, I know we've got the smarts and the brain power. I'm scared that the perp's gonna get in your head, or have they already? I see you had to put some of that tinted eye crap on, which tells me you didn't sleep too well and I can guess why, son." Bobby still wasn't looking at him and that's the only reason why Dean didn't bolt.

Bobby knew his past, every dirty little detail, but he had never looked at him with anything other than respect, and then later with affection. When the alpha called him 'son' he truly did consider him and Cas family, and so did his mate, Karen. He never could hide when he'd had a nightmare from him like he could others, but he figured it wasn't too bad to have someone like Bobby watching out for him.

"Yeah." He cleared the lump from his throat. "Rough night, but I'm good, Bobby." He side-eyed his father figure.

"Hmm," was the only answer he got.

"You ready to head in?" he asked as he threw his blazer on over the holster holding his stunner.

"Yeah, let's go. I wanna get on the system before Charlie gets back. That girl needs a vacation. Be forewarned, after this case I'm gonna make her take one, so you're gonna get a request from Jo, too," he said, following Dean down the stairs and out the door.   


"Son of a Bitch! I want one!" Dean laughed, watching the look on Bobby's face as he saw Baby 2.0 sitting there waiting for them. He knew he'd really fucking flip when he saw all the toys inside. The laugh felt like a good way to let the nightmare go for now.

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

 

 

Dean was sitting at his desk, drinking his coffee (it was such a bad day that he was having a  _ second _ sweet and creamy treat), while his head was about to explode from dealing with his computer. It was obvious that the same people who screwed with him in Vehicle Maintenance were now running Electronics. In other words, his computer sucked and he really wanted to throw it out of the window, but it wouldn't fit through the tiny space. He had measured. Twice. Only stubbornness had kept him from asking Bobby for a unit upgrade, bypassing Electronics Division altogether, but it was time to get over himself.   


Dean finished his coffee before heading to the elevator, but was stopped by a uniform he had never seen before, which was uncommon since he made it a point to try to know who was on his floor. He glanced at the name on his badge, noting the name so he could look up his record when he had time...maybe next fricking year!

"Uniform Porter." He waited for the young cop to find his voice, knowing that his reputation intimidated the newbies.

"Lieutenant Winchester, Sir. There has been a development concerning Alpha Vasquez."  Kid did good, since he didn't even stutter, but he was looking at Dean's forehead instead of using eye contact.

"Explain, Porter." He really needed to talk to her to finally be able to cross her off his suspect list. His gut (which was eerily correct the majority of the time) told him that the alpha had nothing to do with the death of her omega.

"Sir, at 0700 Alpha Vasquez died of a broken bond while still in the hospital. Dr. Julian is on his way back to the morgue with her remains to do the autopsy. He said he would have a preliminary report for you within the hour." Dean counted to ten, then again before he felt he could answer without tearing Porter's head off. This wasn't his fault.

"Dismissed. Wait," he called out as the uniform turned to leave, ''How long have you been at Central?"

"This is my first day, Lieutenant Winchester, Sir." Now he could detect a slight tremor in the young beta's voice.

"Have you been assigned a trainer yet?" He mentally flipped through the available detectives in his department, wondering who would be a good fit.

"No, Sir, Lieutenant Winchester. HR said that you would assign me and I...umm..." the beta trailed off looking sheepish.

"Speak your mind, Porter, it's alright." The kid reminded Dean a bit of himself when he started,  but Dean could never pull off timid.

"I was hoping to work with you and Detective Harvelle, Sir. I understand this may not be the best time for a trainee, but that is my desired position." Porter actually looked him in the eyes with that last statement. Yeah, he could work with this kid.

"Alright, here's what's gonna happen. I'm going down to the morgue to talk to Dr. J. You are going to go online and find me every piece of information on their marriage: who their friends were, who picked sides in the divorce, everything there is to find, find it. I expect your report at shift's end. Questions, Porter?" He quirked an eyebrow at the beta who was about vibrating out of his shoes with excitement.

"No, Sir! I won't let you down!" Dean saluted him back, barely holding in a snicker as the flustered uniform tripped over his own feet in his hurry to get back to his desk.

As soon as the elevator door closed, Dean began kicking the walls in anger. He knew it was childish (which is why he did it while alone), but throwing a private tantrum helped him to channel his anger into his investigation. The murderer now had a count of three deaths, because no matter that's it's not that common for a mate to die when their truemate did these days, the perp killed Alpha Vasquez, and there was no doubt in Dean's mind. After giving the wall one good last kick before the doors opened into the morgue, he took a deep breath. While he also used his emotions in his work, he needed to use his logic right now, so he swallowed the anger and walked into the Dead's Domain, as Dr. J. called the morgue.

 

After the quiet dignity of Dr. J, the noisy, colorful domain of Bobby's division caused an instant headache behind Dean's eyes. The detectives were all in civilian clothes, like most detectives were, but these people had some  _ seriously _ odd fashion sense. Yes, he realized he was the last to talk about someone else's fashion choices, but come on! For example, Luna, who was absolutely brilliant at code, was wearing neon green and pink striped leggings with a tye dyed shirt in the same colors. He noticed most of the detectives had earbuds in and none of them were sitting still: there was some type of bopping, swaying, shaking, or shimmying as they worked on whatever it was they were working on. Granted, not many of these detectives had to deal with the public like others, but damn. How Bobby could handle the chaos after running Homicide for years was beyond Dean's understanding. He was weaving his way through the desks to get to Bobby's office when Charlie waved him over.

"Bradbury," he greeted as he sat on the corner of her desk (after she moved a large Yoda statue that when she picked it up said, "F4 you must hit when confused you are.").

"Ok, Bobby is still working on the house system while I've been working on his personal unit. Still nothing on a wrist unit but uniforms are still looking. I have found something I wanted you to see, though." He waited as her fingers flew over one of keyboards in front of her. He glanced at her outfit and while it wasn't as painful as Luna's, it was pretty close. Red parachute pants that had at least eight pockets that he could see, and a white t-shirt that had Jo's face on it in the Andy Warhol design. Son of a bitch, it was brilliantly tacky.   


"See here, the person who called Carlos Vasquez letting him know they would be there soon was disguising their voice. I'm running it through a program that can bring it back, but it may take a while. The vic giggles, actually giggles, Loo, about the disguise. He tells the person that called that they're so smart and he can't wait until they get there. Vasquez confirms that he had turned off his security system and that he can't wait until they can be in the open." He shakes his head at her offer of a piece of gum while he takes in what she said.

"Alright, anything else breaks, I wanna know asap. I'm going to see Bobby, then I'll be in my office. Keep at it, Bradbury. Good work." After making sure no one was looking, he yanked on her pigtail. She was family after all.

Walking into the calm that was Bobby's office, he knocked on the door jamb. When the older alpha glanced up, Dean motioned closing the door and got the go ahead from his mentor.

"I ain't got shit for ya' yet, but what's up with privacy? You alright, Dean?" He could smell the concern coming from Bobby as he watched Dean take a seat in the uncomfortable visitor's chair. They both kept crappy chairs so that people wouldn't be inclined to stay too long.

"I'm fine, Bobby. I just need a favor." He knew he was whispering, but he couldn't help it, damn it.

"Speak up, ya' idjit. What do you need?" Now he could scent the alpha getting grumpy instead of concern, a step in the right direction.

"Can you please get me a new computer for my office?" He kept his eyes on his feet, but there was no denying that Bobby was tickled with his request if his snort of laughter was anything to go by.

"Is your current one still in one piece?" Bobby snickered.

"Barely, the piece of shit. Quit laughing, old man. It's a conspiracy to drive me  _ insane _ : the crappy cars I was always assigned, the computers that would snub their noses at me, not to mention the Vending Machines." He shuddered thinking of the abuse those machines gave him, so much so that he mentally capitalized them when he spoke of the damn things.

"Yeah, I'll have one up and running for you in about an hour." He watched as Bobby began texting on his wrist unit.

"That quick? Awesome!" He thought for sure he'd have to wait a day or so.

"I've had one ready and waiting for ya', ya' idgit. Knew you'd finally get tired of that old relic." Dean flipped Bobby the bird (which only garnered laughter) as he left the alpha's office. Now he needed to check in with Jo and try to get another appointment with Donna. Oh, joy.

 

Dean had been 'playing' on his new computer (doing a happy dance in his chair pretty much the whole time) for a few hours when he was interrupted by the sound of Benny's steps coming towards his office. He caught the alpha's scent of woodsmoke and rosemary, something that he had at one time thought was sexy. Dean could admit he still thought the bear of an alpha was attractive (only to himself since Cas could be a bit possessive, which Dean loved), but there was no longer any real attraction.   


"'Benny," he said before the alpha walked in the door.

"Hey, Cher. Still creepy how ya' do that." Dean smiled at him and handed him a cup of coffee before sitting behind his desk. He silently laughed as Benny  _ gingerly _ sat in the visitors chair, wincing when it creaked in protest.

"Brotha',  _ please _ get a chair that I'm not afraid is gonna put my ass on the floor when I sit down." Dean threw his head back and let out his laughter.

"Well, I didn't know you were coming in, but I'm glad to see you. How's Alfie? Still working crazy hours at the clinic?" Cas had donated a few million dollars to help Benny's mate open a free clinic in one of the worst areas in the city. It's purpose was to help the homeless, the majority being unmated omegas.   


"Yep, but he's got anotha' doc starting next month, so his hours will finally go down. Once they're settled in we wanna take a vacation. Gonna spend a couple a' weeks off planet. Enjoy some nude beaches." Dean stuck his tongue out in an 'ick' way causing Benny to laugh. Sure Dean loved being naked with Cas on the beach on their private island, but to go to a  _ public _ nude beach was just...ick.

"My omega has a bit of an exibitionist kink that I like to support. Wouldn't you support one of Cas' kinks?" He couldn't help the blush on his face thinking about his alpha's love of seeing Dean in panties.

"Shut up, Benny. Now, what can you tell me about Scarlett, Shandi Miller?" He leaned back, putting his feet up on his desk and sipped his coffee.

"Well, I worked with her twice, back when I was still a pro. She was polite, stuck to the things she was licensed for, even though one of the clients pushed for her to go beyond. Before ya' ask, he was  _ gently _ pushing, nothing aggressive or I would have stepped in. Think more begging than demanding." The alpha sipped some coffee, gathering his thoughts. One thing Dean really liked about Benny was his careful way of speaking.

"That first time was jus' the three of us, Shandi, the male alpha, and myself. He wanted to watch us, then join but he was more interested in me, if ya' understand me. I can't give ya' names until ya' get a subpoena, but I have everything ready for when ya' do, Cher." Dean watched Benny cross his legs, pulling on his pants to stop them from creasing. The alpha looked good in a suit, but nowhere near as good as Cas, who could make him slick just seeing him in one of his business suits.

"The only other time I worked with Scarlett was about a month before I left that scene to start my counseling business. That was an orgy with approximately fifteen people. A mix of alphas and betas, no omegas. There weren't many females, maybe five or six, and they were only 'with' each other. The men looked on enjoying the show, while at the same time enjoying each other." The alpha glanced at his wrist unit, letting Dean know he was about to leave. He probably had a patient appointment.

"Last thing for now, why no omegas?" He stood up when Benny did, stepping closer to the door.

"The client that organized the orgy said that the men were all mated to omegas and didn't want to cheat." Dean barked out a laugh at that and Benny did the same.

"So I'll expect a subpoena later today?"   


"Yeah, thanks for stopping by, Benny." He patted the alpha on the back.

"Sure thing, Cher. We'll see ya' tonight." He watched Benny walk away, then his words finally registered. He leaned out his office door to holler at him.

"Tonight?!" he yelled.

Benny never turned around. He just yelled out that Cas told him "when Dean had no clue as to what he was talking about, that Dean should check his calendar, since the dinner had been on there for a few days."

"Son of a bitch..." Dean stomped back towards his desk to check the damn calendar.   


He actually remembered agreeing to the dinner with their friends, but he shouldn't be responsible for his agreement after his mate had spent  _ frickin' hours  _ eating his ass. Sneaky alpha.

 

Dean had been going over and over all the reports that he had been sent, and now his head was killing him. He popped some aspirin and switched to water after having drunk a few gallons of coffee throughout the day. There had been no progress on finding the store where the cardstock was sold, although Bobby had finally found the Macbook design that had printed it out. While that was good to know when they found the perp, it didn't do much for them at the moment.

Just as he was shoving reports in his bag to head home for the (damn) dinner, Porter knocked on his open door.

"Come in, Porter. Got your report?" He held out his hand for the obvious report in his hand.

"Yes, Sir, Lieutenant Winchester. I have a hard copy and I sent you the e-copy." Dean placed the report in his bag with the others.

"See anything I should check out first?" he asked the beta.

"Yes, Sir, I believe so. Both vics were in the foster system, and Vasquez got a moneyed settlement from the state after it was proved that his case worker placed him with a couple that was known to be abusive. The couple committed murder/suicide right before the settlement was reached and a criminal case could be brought." Porter was vibrating again as he spoke.

"Vasquez was in the system. Ok, so who was the couple?" Dean was sure of the answer before he asked, but he wanted to hear it out loud from the young uniform.

"Zacharia and Remo, Sir. The same couple that Shandi Miller had been placed with." Porter had a smile on his face.

Bingo, Dean thought.  _ There _ was the connection between the vics, but  _ he _ had never been placed with that couple. He'd have Cas run the couple on the unregistered at home to find the names of all the kids this couple fostered.


	9. Chapter 9

 

 

Before Dean even backs out of his parking spot in the garage he's programmed a coffee from the mini auto-chef located in the back of the passenger seat. He'll be switching to some wine when he gets home so he's going to enjoy this last cup of coffee on the way, since he needs to get a few things done before he has to go from Lieutenant Winchester, murder cop to Dean Winchester, dinner-party thrower.   


He maneuvered his way out of the multi-floored parking garage and once he was on the freeway headed home, he put Baby 2.0 on auto-pilot so he could work on his computer. After filling out the forms for his subpoena request he would send it off to A.D.A. Jody, who already knew that he was going to send in for Benny's records, but now there was more he needed from her. Dean planned on doing his own research (well, Cas would do it on the unregistered), but he needed to 'officially' find the same information as he would by doing it Cas' way. It took the majority of the ride home to get the forms filled out for the records of Zach and Remo, along with all the court records from Vasquez's lawsuit against the city and emailed to Jody, but he wanted to get it done and out of the way so he could enjoy his down time with his mate and friends for a few hours.   


Walking in his front door, Dean was surprised to find only Rufus there to great him. He crouched down to rub his flubby belly (it seemed as if all three of his human slaves gave him treats, spoiled-rotten pud) and clucked and cooed at him for a few minutes before going to the Home System to find out where everyone was.   


"Where's Cas?" he spoke into the speaker as Rufus rubbed his face against his legs.

"Hello, Darling Dean. Cas is in the greenhouse." Dean remembered the first time he had asked the system a question and it answered in his mate's voice and used  _ that  _ nickname. It became the first time that the pair had an actual fight. Dean eventually won, in that Cas agreed to have computer only respond that way  _ if _ Dean was alone, since there was always a good chance of other cops being in their home.

Dean walked through the house towards the kitchen to see if that's where Crowley was creeping, since he hadn't greeted him at the door to habitually bitch about something or other. He refused to leave evidence that he was looking for the short and crabby alpha, so he would never ask the computer, but he  _ would  _ walk through the rooms Crowley usually hovered around, the kitchen being the most obvious choice. Sure enough, when he stepped through the door into the large kitchen he found Crowley at the stove cooking. Whatever they were having smelled delicious and Dean was a bit embarrassed at how loud his stomach growled after smelling the enticing aromas that were coming from across the room.

"Dinner is in less than an hour, so no nibbles for you, Dean. Cas is in the greenhouse. Please drag him out of there; he's been there for hours." Dean read the look in the alpha's eyes that said Cas had been having a bad day. While upset, the alpha tended to hide in his greenhouse with his flowers, vegetables, herbs, and of course, his bees.   


"What happened?" he asked as he poured two glasses of wine from the bottle Crowley had let breathe. "Oh...I know. I'll take care of him, Crowley." He left with the wine after the other man nodded at him.

 

He couldn't help but walk towards the greenhouse slowly as he tried to gather his thoughts, Dean needed to put Cas first tonight and the dinner party made more sense now. The alpha wanted to have friends around for an effective distraction. Today was the anniversary of the day that he found out about his birth mother. Cas had been raised by his Russian father, along with who he assumed was his Irish mother, deep in the Siberian loneliness. His old man had been a wannabe Russian mobster, doing small jobs for them before his own scams ironically got him in trouble with them. Cas' mum had run out on them when he was about five, leaving him to take the brunt of the man's anger. The man talked more with his fists than his mouth, with Cas being his favorite target. On this date, about three years ago, Cas found out that the woman who had left him was not his birth mother, just some young girl that his father, Inias, got hooked on drugs. She did try to look after Cas as a young pup, but her addictions and the constant beatings she took from Inias left his care lacking even before she disappeared.

An old friend from his youth had contacted him, letting him know that it had come out (during a jewel theft scheme he had going on) that the girl, Fiona, had  _ not _ run out on Cas. Inias had grown tired of her, so he got rid of her, like he had done with Cas' mum. Dean and Cas had flown over to Ireland immediately so they could investigate the claim, and Crowley showed up a day or so later to help, since he still kept in contact with some of his connected Irish buddies. Cas may have a potent network (and yeah, that still caused Dean's spine to shiver sometimes), but Crowley's cronies were a bit more connected back during the time they were investigating. It came out that Cas' mum's name was Nadia, a beautiful, young Irish girl who had met Inias on a family trip when she was just seventeen. She ran away with him back to Russia, her heart eyes surely disappearing shortly after they arrived, when he beat her for the first time.   


The young omega had been living a sheltered life before she was seduced by Inias, having no idea who he really was before he sold her on the romantic idea of eloping to Russia with the promise that they would return to see her family after they were married. The bastard had even had a 'ceremony' for the girl with one of his buddies as the priest, then afterwards there were problems with her passport, or so he told her. From what they had been able to piece together, after a few months of beatings Nadia was ready to run from Inias but then she realized she was pregnant. She knew without being told that Inias would kill her if she tried to leave with his pup, since he was always ranting about having a houseful of alphas to take over his business when he was ready to retire. Nadia's first beating was when she pushed to find out what his business was. Finding out that he was an omega trafficker broke her heart and the threat of him selling her was what cost her months before she was more scared to stay than to try and run. After realizing she had pupped, she was even more frightened but she knew the laws would not let her leave her alpha while she was pregnant, unless he was the one to leave her. She tried to get word to her parents, but Inias caught her, promising her a severe beating after she had delivered his son.   


It nearly broke his mate when he heard that his father had delivered on that promise, then sent Nadia's dead body to her family in Ireland in ten different cold storage boxes. It took days for Dean to get Cas to leave their hotel room, days in which Crowley continued to investigate.   


Over breakfast one morning, Crowley let himself in their room but before Dean could rip him a new one, the short, irritating, but oh-so-protective of Cas alpha, told them that Cas had grandparents that were on their way to meet him. He spoke of their astonishment of finally being able to meet their grandson. Cas immediately began to panic, stating that they must hate him, blame him for his mum's death at the very least. Dean had to force his alpha's face into his neck, letting him draw comfort from Dean's scent, and Crowley assured him over and over that the Donovans were aware of who killed their daughter and that it  _ had not _ been Cas.

 

Dean stopped at the open door of the greenhouse and took a deep breath, enjoying the sweet scent of Cas' creations and let the memories leave him so he could be present for his mate. Right as he stepped into the warm, humid greenhouse, his wrist unit buzzed showing a text from Crowley. He frowned, reading that there were more guests coming than just Benny and Alfie, but then he smiled at the fact that Crowley was surprising Cas, and that his grandparents were on their way to the house. Dean needed to keep Cas at the greenhouse for at least thirty minutes. He could handle that easily.

"Hello, Dean." He looked to his left to see his alpha tending to the roses that he had bred for Dean shortly after they had mated.   


"Heya, Cas." He walked over and handed Cas his wine, then bent to smell the turquoise rose that the alpha had claimed was a combination of their eye colors. Sappy, frickin' alpha.

"They're looking good, Honey. How many bushes are you going to end up with this time?" He sipped his wine, smiling when Cas copied his movements.

"Mmm...nice choice in the wine, Omega. I think I'll be able to give out about fifteen bushes to our friends and loved ones." He flashed Cas a flirty smile, happy that he shared their roses with their family.   


Dean kissed his mate on the cheek, then took his wine and strolled around the greenhouse looking at all the beauty. It had taken him a while to get used to the bees that had free run of the greenhouse as well as the estate grounds, but Cas had finally gotten him to relax and enjoy their beauty as well. The odd alpha he had fallen for had a huge crush on all things about bees, and he made sure that his hives (Dean thought there were now about twenty on the property) thrived. It could still freak him out to watch Cas working on a hive with bees just about covering his protective suit, so he tended to be busy when it was that time. Luckily, his mate understood.   


Flowers of every color guided his walk through the first room: blooms of reds, purples, oranges, yellows, pinks, and some gorgeous blues were on raised tables enjoying a warming mist of water from the complicated system Cas had installed.   


Dean moved on to the next room where the edible plants were, which he had to say was his favorite room in the greenhouse. He really did enjoy the flowers, and Cas made sure that there were fresh blooms in their room every week. While it was romantic and made Dean smile, the herbs and vegetables that Crowley worked into some of the best food he had ever eaten gave him more pleasure. He checked the time on his wrist unit, seeing that he still had about ten minutes to wander around, and noticed another text from Crowley, telling him that they should go in the back way to get to their room. Also, that they should shower  _ separately _ since there wasn't time for knotting. Creepy, short ass alpha.

Dean picked a few mint leaves to rub together before dropping them in his white wine. Crowley called him uncouth for his habit but he didn't care, since he liked the flavor combination. He ate a few strawberries, checked on the lettuce plants coming up, along with some delicious, hot peppers. He would request some chili for dinner soon and enjoy the burn of the Carolina Reaper peppers with some ice cold beer. It was time to go get cleaned up, and Dean's stomach was growling like there was a wolf inside. Snorting at his own joke, he walked back into the flower room to wrap his arms around Cas from behind. He rubbed his face across the alpha's shoulders as he pushed his hand up under his t-shirt to rest it on Cas' stomach muscles, feeling them bunch and quiver at his touch.

"Come on, Alpha. Let's go get cleaned up for dinner. Crowley said there's no time for fun so we should take separate showers." He could hear the pout in his own voice, crap on a cracker.

"Well, Omega, I believe we have time for  _ some _ fun, let's go." Dean let Cas lead him out of the greenhouse but he pulled his mate towards the back of the house.

"Let's go up the balcony stairs. Don't wanna run into  _ he who should not be named when speaking of fun _ ." He exaggerated his shudder just to hear Cas laugh a bit louder, and the sound soothed his inner omega.

"I'll follow you, Darling Dean, to Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory." Thing is, the omega knew his mate meant it. He wasn't just being flippant. Sappy frickin' alpha.

 

They had to hurry and get dressed (since they  _ did _ have a bit of fun in the shower with mutual blow jobs, nah-nah, Crowley), so they were running a few minutes behind. By the way Crowley sounded, though, they were days late, yelling through the house intercom. Since it was friends (and surprise appearance of family), they both dressed informally: jeans that were worn soft and faded, t-shirts that showed their love of music and movies (Zeppelin for Dean and Star Wars for Cas) and bare feet. Dean really hated wearing shoes in his home and only did for cop briefings in his home office. Otherwise his toes needed to be 'free and frisky' to show off his pedicure. It wasn't the most 'butch' thing he did (he didn't care) but he really enjoyed it. Rowena had sold him a machine that he could program to change the color as well as type out messages that he wanted his toes to say. Dean enjoyed getting really dirty with the messages, making his alpha blush while reading them as he gave Dean foot rubs. God, could Cas take the tension from his whole body by rubbing his feet, he was one blessed omega.

Dean walked down the stairs on one side of Cas with Rufus on the other. He silently laughed at what a strange little family they were, but he realized how perfect they were, too. He could hear Benny's laugh coming from the smaller, more intimate dining room and he thought he caught the scent of Cas' grandma, or mamó as she wanted to be called. She had a sweet grapefruit scent that made him feel warm and cozy. Dean then caught the deeper (older?) scent of his grandpa's whiskey scent that Cas had inherited. The older alpha insisted on being called Daideo (Irish slang for grandpa) and Dean was more than happy to oblige the cuddly, older man who had accepted his mate with no hint of anger at the piece of crap that sired Cas. The fact that these people never once looked at his mate with anything other than love and complete acceptance made them awesome in Dean's book.   


They reached the bottom of the stairs before Cas caught on to the fact that there were others present besides Benny and Alfie. Dean saw the spark in his eye when Cas recognized his families' scents, as well as Sammy and Gabe's. Squeezing his mate's hand, he pulled him along to the dining room to see Gabe standing at the end of the table, twirling around telling Cas' grandmother about the material of his outfit, giving Sammy all the praise for developing the mesh material that wasn't actually see-through, but that could show different pictures through the LED lights that were imbedded in it. Dean didn't understand how it worked, but he was very proud of his brother.

"Mamó, Daideo!" Dean let go of Cas to let him be surrounded by the older couple as they hugged him.   


"Get over here, Madra." Dean blushed when the older omega called him over by the nickname 'puppy' that they had bestowed on him. He really liked it but he wouldn't tell anyone, and yes, he knew they could smell 'happy omega' in his scent, but he didn't have to  _ say _ how happy he was.

 

After spending a meal catching up with everyone, the alphas of the group went to go smoke a cigar in the gaming room (Dean figured Sammy was wanting to get his money back from Benny from the last game of darts), while Dean, grandma, Gabe, and Alfie sat around with some scotch on the rocks talking about their alphas and life.   


"Madra, Missouri said that there is a bad man after you, why?" Dean patted the work worn hand she had placed on his cheek.

"I'm not sure yet, Nana (she winked at him not using the Irish word for grandma, but he couldn't say it right so he stuck with Nana), but I will find out. I'll stop them soon, I promise."   


Dean knew she was looking for assurances of his safety, but he could only promise her he'd stop the perp and he hoped it was before he (or anyone else) got hurt.

"You must protect yourself, Madra. Cas, us, them," she pointed to the other omegas in the room and towards the door where the alphas had gone out, "we all need and love you." He blushed as Gabe and Alfie murmured their agreement and Nana kissed him on the cheek. Dean was so overwhelmed with love and embarrassment that he did the only thing he could: he threw his bestie under the bus.

"Gabe, you're not drinking scotch, are you?" He gave the pregnant man his best puppy dog eyes letting him know to rescue him.

"Nah, no worries, Deanie-Beanie. I'm drinking ginger ale, just thought I'd use the same glass as you guys to make me one of the cool kids." Dean sent up a silent thanks that Gabe went along with the diversion.

"How are you feeling, Gabe? Do you have a lot of nausea?" Alfie asked in his doctor voice.

"Nope, not really any at all. I've just found that sometimes it's easy to drink some ginger ale to head off any kinda of ick after eating. I  _ hate  _ throwing up so I try to get ahead of it." Dean watched as Gabe got up to pour another glass of the pop.   


"Hey, Alfie, how's things at the clinic going?" He turned to the slim, omega doctor who had somehow become one of his closest friends.

"Good! You need to come down and check out the progress we've made. Thanks to the last fundraiser that you and Cas hosted a few months ago, we were able to buy the building next door. Cas has donated the rest of what we needed to refurbish, which will make it easier for us to see more patients." He loved how Alfie's excitement for his patients showed on his face. The omega doctor had been raised in privilege but his family had turned their backs on him when he refused to turn his back on the less fortunate.

"So, when are you and that big, strong, sexy alpha going to have a pup, hmm?" Dean laughed hard at the shocked look on Alfie's face when Nana dropped her question.

"Well, um, we've talked about it quite a lot. We think we're going to go off birth control next year and try." Getting up, Dean hugged Alfie and he could feel the heat of his blush when their cheeks connected.

"Hot damn! More babies, I can't wait." He sat back down to see the three omegas staring at him with amusement in their eyes.

"Nope, not yet." Dean waved away their pointed looks. "We are not talking about it, not for a long time! Understand?" he knew he was babbling but he couldn't help it. The idea of pups was terrifying. He did want them with Cas, but he just wasn't ready yet.

"Alright, Madra. I won't ask you about pups, yet." Dean let his shoulders fall in relief at Nana's words, but he should have known the sassy omega wasn't done with him. "Let's talk about your toe nails that say 'Knot me now!', shall we?" Son of a bitch! He should have suggested a game of darts.

  
  
  
  
  
  



	10. Chapter 10

 

 

 

Dean followed Cas into the private office that housed the unregistered computers, sipping on the last of his drink. They had seen that their family and friends were settled for the night (Benny and Alfie deciding to stay since they were both a bit tipsy) and were headed to their room once Cas issued his searches for anything on Zacharia and Remo. He loved watching Cas slip into his hacker personality, twirling his longish hair back into a short queue (so  _ fucking _ sexy) before sliding his black rimmed glasses on his face. Damn, what was an omega to do when he saw Cas like that other than begin to get slick? He left his mate alone for now since he was busy breaking the law for him, but he'd attack as soon as Cas was done. Dean realized that his alpha was keeping an eye on him even as his fingers flew over the keyboard doing...well, whatever it was he was doing. Putting a bit of a swing to his hips, Dean stopped at the wall unit to browse his music choices. He was in the mood to put on a show for his alpha. Judging by the fact that the tappy-tap sounds from the keyboard was slowing down he knew Cas was just about done programming the perimeters of the search, so it was a good time to start his teasing.   


Dean smirked to himself when he found the song he wanted. It was one he loved but would only listen to when at home or alone in his car. As the beginning bars began he began swinging his hips (his  _ omega _ hips that his jeans showed their slight curve) in a figure eight motion. He also began rocking up on his toes and then back to his heels, letting his spine sway in a different direction that his hips now that Cas was watching every play of his muscles. After sitting his now empty glass on the bookshelf, he crossed his arms over his chest grabbing the sides of his shirt slowly raising it to the beat, letting every inch of exposed skin tantalize Cas, cuz the man  _ was  _ watching--he could feel the heat from his gaze almost burning on his flesh.

After he got his head unstuck from the collar of his shirt (yeah, he was smooth alright), he turned around and tossed the offending clothing towards Cas' laughing face. He had been right: the alpha was done on the computer and was now facing him with the back of his chair pushed against the credenza behind his desk, leaving room for Dean to strut over, stopping between his mate's legs. Dean grabbed Cas' gloriously talented hands and placed them on his hips. He was still shaking, swinging, and thrusting as he began singing to his alpha:

 

_ I got this feelin' inside my bones _

_ It goes electric, wavy when I turn it on _

_ All through my city, all through my home _

_ We're flyin' up, no ceilin', when we in our zone _

_ I got that sunshine in my pocket _

_ Got that good soul in my feet _

_ I feel that hot blood in my body when it drops (ooh) _

_ I can't take my eyes up off it, movin' so phenomenally _

_ Room on lock, the way we rock it, so don't stop _

_ And under the lights when everything goes _

_ Nowhere to hide when I'm gettin' you close _

_ When we move, well, you already know _

_ So just imagine, just imagine, just imagine _

_ Nothin' I can see but you when you dance, dance, dance _

_ Feel a good, good creepin' up on you  _

_ So just dance, dance, dance, come on _

_ All those things I shouldn't do _

_ But you dance, dance, dance _

 

He would have kept singing to Cas, grinding down on him, and rubbing their cocks together through their jeans, but the alpha wouldn't take the teasing anymore and suddenly Dean was being kissed within an inch of his life (all right, this was good, too). He leaned into the kiss and opened wide while Cas' lips and tongue explored everywhere. When he heard the alpha start to growl, he decided that he was still running this seduction, so Dean released his hands from their grip on his alpha's jaw and slid them up into his hair, wrapping his fingers in behind his head and pulled Cas to the side so he could kiss his way down to the mating bite he had left there years before. Cas grunted but Dean knew it wasn't in annoyance. Oh no, his alpha liked it when he let his omega get a bit aggressive, and so did Dean. He so wanted to mark his mate again but knew that it wasn't a good idea, at least not there. Leaving open mouthed kisses all along the sharp, scruffy jaw, Dean only stopped when he yanked Cas' shirt up and off, letting his eyes drink in the muscles that had been hiding under there. His inner omega thought that his mate should be naked all the time, and thought that it was a shame that this beautiful skin must be covered. But then again, it was for his eyes only.   


Sitting up on Cas' thighs, he ran his hands up his sides then down Cas' arms before moving them to his pants zipper, telling him without words that he should get his omega naked. Dean shivered and felt his stomach drop in the most delicious way when the alpha slipped his fingertips inside the band of his jeans, teasing him, and pushing his thumbs into the zipper while tracing the outline of Dean's cock.   


"Cas..." The name was punched out of him, sounding as if he was begging for more, and he was.

"Be patient, Beloved. You are very sexy when you dance for me, and maybe I don't want it to be over." He heard the desire in his mate's voice as it got a few octaves lower while he continued stroking his cock.   


Dean pushed his ass down onto Cas' hard on and rolled in the figure eight motion again. "Who said the dance was over if I'm naked, Alpha? The dance will just change a bit, right?"   


He sucked, nibbled, and teased Cas' earlobe, one of his mate's most sensitive spots. The next moment, Dean heard cloth ripping and felt a bit drafty, so he paused in his current pursuit and looked down in shock to see that his jeans had been ripped open. Cas hadn't taken the time to undo the button and zipper, oh no. He had simply ripped them open. Dean would never admit to anyone other than his alpha that the display of impatience and strength really turned him on. He looked up (mouth open in shock but not drooling, thank you very much), wide eyed, to find Cas looking at him with a blush on his cheeks.

"Oh no, Alpha. No getting embarrassed;  _ own _ that alpha crap. You know I love it when you get all growly and assertive, Honey." He surged forward to lick his way past the pink lips that drove him crazy.

Dean was so lost in the taste of his mate that it took him a moment to realize that the sneaky alpha had manhandled him until he was naked and they were laying on the double chaise that had been added to the office (after they had ended up  _ uncomfortably _ knotted on the floor for the third time). Cas decided they needed comfort, so he had purchased the piece of furniture and Dean had picked out the blankets and pillows that were stored in drawers on the underside of it. Cas was diligent in making sure that there were soft things in any of the rooms that they could end up snuggling or knotting in, because he knew that Dean craved the softness but still had some trouble accepting it.   


"Alpha, please." He wasn't sure what he was asking for, but he knew that Cas would give him what he wanted, besides always giving him what he needed.

"всегда." Cas whispered in his ear and Dean thought,  _ yes, always. _

 

Dean woke the next morning with Cas pulling a pair of sleep pants up his legs. Cas was already in one of his 'kick ass, take names later' business suits and other than the bee covered pants he now had on, Dean was as naked as he was when they had collapsed, knotted together, as they fell asleep on the chaise. Cas kissed him on the cheek before handing him his coffee, then he walked back over the huge desk that had several computer monitors on it (as well as other gadgets, about which he had no fucking clue). After taking his first yummy sip of the sweet treat his alpha made for him, his mood was  _ ruined _ when Crowley flounced into the room with a scowl on his face.

"What the hell, Crowley?" Dean growled out. Sue him, he wasn't a morning person and neither was his mate, but on mornings when business had to happen Cas could fake it enough to keep making gazillions of dollars. Nobody said he had to be a ray of sunshine, though.

"I'm too busy for your crap so stow it, Dean." the alpha sipped from his own mug before he began informing them of what had transpired so far this morning while they were  _ busy _ sleeping off a knot. "Your grandparents have gone off sightseeing with Gabe. Yes I know, control your groans. I sent them in a car with a driver/guard. Gabe said he would stick to public areas and Jonas will keep him to that. Samuel has made it to the airport where your transport will take off in approximately an hour, getting him to Nyba in time for the first of his meetings." Dean watched Cas nodding along as if he had a clue to what was going on. Huh, he wished  _ he _ did.

"Thanks, Crowley. Hopefully he gets through the meetings quickly and will be home within a few weeks time. Are the decorators ready to go? Do I need to call them after I take my conference call from Tokyo?" Dean felt like he was missing a lot of information needed for this conversation but he didn't have the patience to deal with Crowley at butt-fuck o'clock.   


"Excuse me, I'm gonna go shower." He kissed Cas, glared at Crowley and made his escape. Just as he was one foot out the door, Crowley called out to him.

"Charlie, Jo, Bobby, and Commissioner Shurley will arrive in forty-five minutes for a breakfast briefing. Your breakfast is ready in your seating area. I went with waffles and bacon. I figured you could use a good start to your day, Dean." He turned slowly to see Crowley looking at the floor instead of smirking at him. Huh.

"Th..thanks." He waved his fingers at Cas then hot-footed it towards his bacon. Rufus would figure out how to unlatch the warming dome one day soon, but hopefully not today.

 

Having eaten (yeah, ok, he shared his bacon with Rufus) and showered, he was standing naked in his closet about to put on a henley and flannel when Cas grabbed his hand with a firm, "No."

"Why not?!?" He really wanted the comfort of the flannel today for some reason.

"You can wear the flannel, Darling Dean, but after your breakfast meeting. For now, the henley will do but not with those jeans, for goodness sakes, Omega." Cas tutted, actually fucking tutted, as he stepped around him to find some acceptable pants.   


Dean stomped outta there to sit on the edge of the bed, pouting. He hated when he got fashion wrong, sometimes at least. He was trying harder, his inner omega was insisting he try harder to look good for his alpha ever since the last business dinner he had attended. He didn't say anything to his mate, but he had overheard a few omegas in the bathroom (yeah, he was hiding in the stall since he hated these social gatherings) talking about how they were surprised at Cas' choice of mate. Called him uncouth, dim, and that he only passed fashionably because his brother designed everything he wore. Dean hated when his insecurities popped out and fucked with him, but he wasn't surprised, especially with the case he was working, along with having had his nightmare the other night.   


"Beloved, what's wrong?" Dean became aware that he was sitting in Cas' lap, clothes laid on the bed next to them. Hmm...he must really have been deep in thought.

"Just things, Cas. I'm alright, really." He rubbed his cheek against his alpha's to reassure him, and himself a bit too, if he was honest.

He sat still as Cas stared into his eyes, checking for himself how the omega was feeling. When his mate took his time his eyes darting from one to the other, Dean was sure that the man named for an angel could see his soul and it terrified him and calmed him at the same time. Seeing whatever it was he was looking for, Cas nodded, picked Dean up off his lap and unceremoniously dumped him on the bed.   


"More coffee, Omega?" Cas asked as he went to program it, already knowing the answer.

"Of course, you assbutt." He giggled softly to himself at the antics of his mate, and now his cat who was playing soccer across the bed with his socks.

"Thanks," he said as Cas handed him his mug. "So, what's Sammy doing on Nyba? What are decorators doing, and please don't let it be something here."   


"Sam is meeting with the investors who are sponsoring the fashion show scheduled for next spring. They are checking out venues, caterers, florists, well...everything," he replied, sitting next to Dean who was trying to put on his socks with Rufus determined to keep his 'toy'.

"Rufus, damn it!" He reached into the bottom drawer of his night table and pulled out a brand new catnip mouse for the flabby pest. The cat nabbed it and disappeared under the fake fur draped over the foot of the bed.

"Ok, now, aren't you the major investor in his line, after himself?" He had to get another pair of socks since the pair he had been trying to put on now had some holes, damn frickin' cat.

"Yes,  _ we _ are, and while we own Nyba, there are other businesses that wish to sponsor this event. It will give some smaller designers a chance to show some of their designs at the show, if Sam approves them." Dean nodded as he pulled on his ankle boots. These were more of a brown, not his regular black ones. He didn't think he had worn these before. Damn closet elves struck again.

"I've always meant to ask, why did you name the planet Nyba?" He twirled around like a supermodel to make Cas laugh (mission accomplished) before he began hanging his cuffs on the back of his belt. His badge went in his front pocket, lock pick set in a back pocket, and his stunner went in his shoulder holster that he strapped on over his shirt.

"It's based off the sound of a word in Russian," Cas replied and Dean looked up, noticing that the man looked very interested in the inside of his empty coffee mug.   


"The  _ sound _ of a word? Tell me more, Alpha," he flirted. When his mate didn't say anything, Dean sank to his knees on the floor between Cas' legs. He looked up at him through his eyelashes and repeated his question.

"Fine, it's the closest I came to naming it 'Heaven.' I didn't tell you because you get all…" He paused, searching for the right word. "Silly...weird..when I tell you that you're my Heaven. Can we drop it now?" He wanted to laugh at the huff in Cas' voice. He also wanted to cry at how sweet the man was, but he did neither. Dean just nodded, then kissed Cas on the forehead as he stood up. Crowley announced that the parade of cops had started through the gates, so Dean made his way to his office, shaking his head at his sappy frickin' alpha.

 

He had just enough time to add the last finds to his board after scanning through the reports on his computer before Cas joined him.

"You going into the office this morning?" he asked and looked over at his mate, which caused him to poke his finger with a tack. Cas instantly had his finger in his mouth, causing every bit of blood in Dean's body to head towards his cock.

"Cas!" he hissed, pulling his finger out before he could start slicking; there were cops coming!

"Sorry, Omega." The dickhead didn't really sound sorry through his laughter. "Yes, I'll be leaving in just a few moments. I want to say hello to our friends first."

"Ok, stay here a minute, please. I can hear Charlie running up the stairs but I have something for you to take to Missouri. Have Jo finish putting up these latest reports while I'm gone." He patted Cas' chest as he walked by and the firmness made him think about Cas being naked, again. Definitely need the va-ca to their island where they were naked 24/7 for  _ days _ .

When he walked back into his office everyone had arrived and was gathered around the portable table Crowley had set up, loaded down with breakfast. Pain in the ass that he was, the alpha loved feeding people and he was good at it.

"G'morning, Commissioner Shurley," he said coming to attention.

"Relax, Winchester. This is your home, your  _ home _ office. Relax." He nodded his understanding and went for a refill on his coffee. It was gonna be a long day.

Dean walked over to Cas, who was at Dean's desk with Bobby talking some geek crap, his mate's eyes shining with excitement at whatever Bobby was telling him. He stopped to stand next to Cas and made sure that no one could see he as slid his hand into the back pocket of the man's suit pants. The only sign that Cas gave that anything was going on was to clench the cheek that Dean had grabbed ahold. He had great self control for sure.

"Excuse us, nerds. Can I borrow my mate for a minute before he has to take off?" he asked when he heard Cas telling Bobby that they'd have to finish the theory discussion another time.   


"Sure thing, kid. I'm gonna try and get some bacon before Jo eats it all." Dean laughed as Bobby patted him on the shoulder while walking away. Before he could began talking though, Bobby turned to Cas and asked if Missouri was still single.

"I ....I believe so." Cas sounded as puzzled at the question as Dean felt.

"Alrighty then, tell her Karen and I send our best." The elder alpha kinda  _ strutted _ over to the breakfast table. Dean looked at Cas and they both shuddered.

"I don't wanna know, not now, not ever. Anyhoo...I have a present for Missouri. I left it downstairs on the table by the front door." He smoothed out the lapels on Cas' suit coat.   


Noticing that his alpha was squinting at Bobby with his puzzled tilted head, Dean tugged on his tie to get his attention. "It's not our business, Alpha," he reminded his mate.

"True enough, Omega. I'm just....curious." Dean shuddered again.   


"Well, don't be! What we don't know can't give me the heebee-jeebees!" He accepted a kiss on the cheek when Cas was ready to leave. He watched as the man worked the room quickly but efficiently, saying goodbye to everyone while stealing bacon from both Charlie and Jo's plate without them noticing. Commissioner Shurley noticed and was trying not to laugh, but lost it when he looked up and saw Dean shrug at him like, "whatcha gonna do?"

Time to start this meeting and find a killer today...he hoped.

 


	11. Chapter 11

 

 

Dean had spent his morning running all over town with Jo, trying to narrow down the store or cyber-cafe that sold the cardboard that had been left with the bodies. Jo had narrowed it down to twenty out of the 1,000+ that they had started with, but that still left them with twenty shops to schlep in and out of. Dean was so grateful for the real coffee in his car's auto-chef, and so was Jo.

"Another cup, Loo?" she asked as she was leaning over the seats to program her own cup of sweetened coffee.

"No, I need some food to soak up all the coffee I've already drunk since ass-o'clock this morning." He whipped Baby 2.0 over to the curb, waving at all the assholes who honked at him. Pointing at the corner store, Dean handed Jo some tokens after telling her to grab them some donuts or something.   


He checked his computer as he waited and was pissed off that his subpoenas hadn't been issued yet. Dean pulled up the facetime option on the unit to call Jody.

"I just got off the phone with Chuck, Winchester. Your subpoenas will be on your desk within the hour or you can print them from your unit if you're still in the field," the sassy alpha told him before he could even say hello.

"Thanks, Jody. Trouble?" he asked, seeing the frustration on her face.

"Well, let's just say that it took a conference call between my boss, your boss, and  _ his _ boss to get approval on some of the subpoenas. Just interesting I'd say. I gotta get to court. I expect an invite email today!" She hung up on him before he could ask her what she was talking about.

Jo got back into the car, sighed at the relief of the air conditioning and handed him a pack of chocolate-covered donuts. He did a happy-butt-wiggle dance. He did love chocolate. Dean shoveled the donuts down after Jo handed him a container of milk. Damn he loved his partner.

"Alright," he began after swallowing the last drop of cold milk, "we have three shops left then we're heading back into Central. I need to check in with the other detectives and I need an appointment with Donna, so schedule that for me whenever she has a few minutes this afternoon."   


Just as he was about to pull back out into traffic, he saw a kid trying to grab an older woman's purse. Because she stubbornly held on, the skinny boy elbowed her in the face, getting her to let go, and he took off running. Dean was out of the car before he could blink, running down the asshole. It may have been a few years since he was in uniform on patrol and had to  _ literally  _ run down perps, but his feet didn't forget how to be fast (probably due to the fact that he and Cas liked to play 'chase' as often as they could, with Dean liking it when Cas had to work to catch him, so yeah, he was still fast on his feet). He turned the corner that the guy had run around to find it was a blocked-off alley, and the boy was running back towards him swinging the purse he stole, using it as a weapon.

Dean tried to duck out of the way (he  _ knew _ how pissed his alpha would be when he came home bruised, again), but he zigged when he should have zagged. Did that old lady have bricks in there? Fuck, that hurt, but he kept on his feet, leaning in to grab the strap of the purse, which pulled the idiot off his feet and onto his back. Once he dropped his knee on the dude's chest, Dean noticed the tell tale signs of Helios addiction. It was an amphetamine-based drug that was rapidly becoming Vice's biggest problem with the majority of its users, dying within a year of their first hit of it. Once the guy saw Dean's badge hanging around his neck all the fight went out of him.

"Finally." Dean barely heard the whispered word.

"What?" He knew that a lot of cops didn't even engage with addicts, but Dean always held a softer spot for them, because growing up in the system he saw a lot of things that could drive someone to want to forget.

"Finally, please. I'm gonna die if I don't get help but the centers are full. Please, I don't want to die." Dean felt his heart break when the young man began sobbing. He looked up when he heard Jo pull the car up at the end of the alley, motioning for her to stay put when she went to open the door.   


"Alright, kid, what's your name?" He helped him sit up, but Dean kept his hand on his shoulder just in case he decided to book it.

"Morgan." He nodded then activated his wrist unit to call Alfie. The Doctor could and would help the addicted omega, and if it was warranted, Dean could and would get the charges dropped after Morgan was out of treatment.

 

It took about an hour before Dean got Jo off to finish checking the shops and the old lady to not press charges before he was able to get the kid to the clinic. Alfie had been wonderful, of course, getting Morgan straight in for an exam but it only worked if Dean went with him. Seems like the kid thought Dean was his hero thanks to Alfie's praise of how many omegas he had brought to the clinic for help. He hated how easily he blushed, but he stood there holding Morgan's hand so that the kid could get help. Alfie had talked to them about what his treatment would be after making sure that the young (he thinks he's about fifteen yrs old but Morgan's not really sure) omega wasn't pregnant or had any std's, after living on the streets for a few years working as an unlicensed sex worker.   


Dean paced the hallway as Morgan was given a supervised bath (Gods bless Alfie) trying to keep the anger from his scent. He knew (always knew) that kids got lost in the cracks of the system but it still pissed him off. Well, he could work with anger, but he hated the underlying sadness he carried after every time he was able to help one kid. It would never stop him from continuing to do what he could, however.   


Looking for balance and support, he called his mate. Missouri answered Cas' private line, letting Dean know that the alpha was in a meeting. He made sure that someone always answered when Dean called because, as Cas said, ya' never know what he's calling about being a cop and all (ok, Dean paraphrased, because Cas said something sappy about his omega's needs, jeez).

"Hello, Sweetheart. What happened?" He was puzzled by her concern 'til he squinted his eyes and felt the bruise on his face pull. Oh, yeah.

"I'm fine, just a purse incident. I swear!" he hollered (but quietly since he was in the clinic), since she was giving him the stink eye.

"Mmhmm. Why are you at the clinic then?" He swore he could feel her smack him upside the back of the head from miles away.

"Eh, another homeless, addicted, omega kid. Busted him for purse snatching, then when I had him pinned to the ground he begged for help. Helios." He kicked the baseboard along the hallway as he paced.

"Oh, honey." Hearing the sympathy in her voice tightened his throat and made him blink away the tears forming in his eyes.

"Listen, Missouri, just let him know I called, and I'm fine." He spoke quickly as he noticed she was walking towards Cas' office door, not the big double doors that screamed 'mine are bigger than yours' to his business associates, but the side door that lead to her office where all friends and family were admitted.

"Hush, child." Dean squatted down to sit on his heels, knowing that there was no stopping her now. He listened as she explained to Cas that he was  _ needed _ on the phone for just a moment and she would replenish his company's tea and coffee while he was out of the office.

Upon seeing his bruises, Dean watched the look of concern, worry, and anger cross his mate's face as he walked into the omega bathroom to have a semblance of privacy. He knew he had a few minutes before Morgan would be done and looking for him again.

"Darling, Dean, are you alright?" Hearing the love in Cas' voice had him falling to his knees against the locked door, sobbing.

After a moment of his alpha making soothing noises, he calmed enough to answer. "I'm alright physically, Alpha. Just another young omega on Helios. I'm at the clinic with him. I just..." He broke off when his throat closed off, causing him to run to the stall. He just barely made it before he threw up his donuts. Damn it. He accidentally hung up on his mate while he was trying to clean up after himself. Well, he'd call him back in a minute, because he really needed to get his shit together.   


It may have been about two minutes since he had hit the screen on his wrist unit when he heard some soft knocking and then the door being unlocked. He had his face in the sink, just dunking it in cold water to bring down the heat in his face, but looking up at the noise he watched Alfie walk in, closing the door behind him.

"He's alright, Cas. He'll call you back in a minute." Alfie tapped his wrist to hang up on Cas. Man, the alpha really hated being hung up on, but he'd apologize in a bit.

 

"I am alright, Alfie," he muttered through the paper towels he was using to dry his face.

"Sure, yeah, I can tell," the slender, snarky omega answered as he grabbed Dean's wrist to check his pulse. He let himself be subjected to that and an overall look over by his friend, but when he wanted Dean to stick his tongue out, Dean had had enough.

"Cut it out now, I'm good. My emotions have just been running wild with this case, a nightmare, and now Morgan. I was just holding on too tight and broke when I heard Cas, ok?" He adjusted his shirt in the mirror but kept his eyes on Alfie, who was still staring at him as if he could make him better with eye contact.

"Well, alright. I would feel better if you came and had a cup of coffee with me in my office, or maybe some ginger ale to help your stomach. I'm gonna bring Morgan in with us and have him eat something and we can try and get a better perspective of what we're dealing with." Dean was nodding yes as soon as he heard ginger ale. He could use it and another chance to hear Morgan's story.

"Sure thing, Doc. Let me call Cas back and I'll meet you there." He reached over to hug his friend, letting his actions speak for the thanks and emotions he always had a hard time expressing.

 

"Hey, Cas. I swear I'm fine," he said as soon as the alpha answered his personal unit, which probably meant that he had totally disrupted his mate's business meeting. Son of a bitch. "I'm sorry," he whimpered (which he would never admit to doing).

"Omega, no извинения. I'm just glad you're ok. Although I wasn't thrilled that you used your face to stop a mugging, Darling Dean." He watched the corners of Cas' mouth twitch in laughter even though he was serious. It was an argument they had frequently when Dean came home bruised, but dang it, he was a cop and shit happened.

Dean was about to get cranky that apparently Jo had ratted him out to Cas yet again, when he noticed that the alpha wasn't in his office. He was in the back of the Lincoln.

"Whatcha doing, Cas?" he asked as he glared at his wrist screen, knowing the answer already.

"I'm on my way to have some coffee or ginger ale with my mate and our friend." Dean wanted to be mad but Cas had the cutest little pout on his face, knowing that Dean could never resist it.

"Fine, I'll see you in a few." He took the time to blow a kiss to the alpha at least, as he was alone in the bathroom since Alfie had left to go to his office. Dean walked out the door just in time to see Cas walking in the front door looking oh, so fuckable. Damn it, he really needed to have some fun-times with his mate and soon.

He stood there letting Cas walk, stalk, saunter and prowl his way to him and it was a damn fine sight to watch. Dean was aware the instant that Cas  _ knew _ that his thoughts were of the fuck-me-now kind, as he watched the blue disappear from his eyes. He smiled his best flirty, yet coy, smile up at his alpha when he stopped so they were toe-to-toe, with Dean up against the wall.

"Now, Alpha. We need to calm down so we don't scare Morgan." Dean felt his desire bleed away as he thought of the young omega waiting for them.   


"Yes, you're right. Alfie said that he informed the young man that I'd be joining you, and Morgan said as long as I was  _ your _ mate he'd be fine. Seems as if you have another fan, Babe." Dean felt the blush start at Cas' words but when he leaned in to kiss him on the forehead, Dean knew it wouldn't disappear any time soon.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go, I need ginger ale." He pulled Cas along by his hand after giving him a quick hug.

 

After spending about an hour sitting with Alfie, Morgan, and his mate, hearing about everything the kid had been through, Dean was so ready to punch someone. The young omega had gone through so much worse than Dean had and for such a long time. Alfie believed he was correct in thinking that he was approximately fifteen years old by the preliminary dental exam he did. Morgan ate a few sandwiches along with some fruit and chips (fake, soy crap but the kid loved them), and drank three orange pops before Cas handed him a bottle of water when he asked for a fourth.   


It was interesting watching Morgan watch Cas. Dean knew from being an omega that you always kept an unknown alpha in your sight so that there were no surprise attacks but Morgan didn't do that with Cas. Morgan didn't do any of that. He just looked at Cas when he was spoken to, otherwise he ignored him. As Dean was watching him eat (kid definitely ate like someone who never knew when the next meal was coming from), he noticed that he looked like he could be related to Cas. Taking a deep (but hopefully subtle) sniff, he was relieved to find that there was nothing in Morgan's scent of Cas. Morgan had the same color hair as his alpha and his eyes were not quite the same blue, but they were close. There was something about the shape of his mouth that was just so Cas, that Dean went so far as to employ a police trick of blocking out the top of Morgan's face so he could only see the bottom and he found the similarities remarkable.

"Dean?" He looked around when Cas said his name to see all three of them looking at him with concern. Oops.

"Yeah, Cas?" He smiled at his mate to let him know he was alright.

"Alfie is going to show Morgan to his room next door. Are you ready to leave?" He could see that Cas had more questions for him, but he decided to ignore it for now.

"Yeah." He stood up, stepped up to Morgan, wrapped him in his arms and spoke into his ear, "Listen kid, you need anything, you call me." He slipped his card with his personal number on it into Morgan's hand as he kissed him on the temple.

When they got outside Cas pulled him into the backseat of the Lincoln, which he knew was gonna happen after he kissed the young omega. Cas knew him better than anyone and it was out of character for him to have done so, and his mate was gonna want to know why, and hell if Dean had an answer.

"Darling, Dean?" the alpha whispered when Dean buried his face into his chest, probably wrinkling his suit, but Dean knew his mate wouldn't care.

"I just...I can see what it could have been like, ya' know? If I hadn't killed him, if I hadn't gotten away and had a good foster home--at least the first few were, and by the time they weren't, I was old enough to talk to my worker who was just fricking amazing. I could have been Morgan." He wasn't surprised when Cas pressed a clean handkerchief to his face when he wasn't even aware he was crying.

"Can you go home and rest for a bit?" He heard the worry in his alpha's voice but he wasn't sure he could do what he asked, and he certainly wasn't going to tell him about the headache he was developing.

"I really need to get into the office. Jo found the cyber-cafe where the cardstock and the Mac were both bought and used. I need to go talk to the manager to get the surveillance tapes and view them to see if anything pops out. I need to check in with Donna before I have to give a report to Commissioner Shurley, too. Fuck!" He kicked the back of the front seat in frustration, "There's so much to do, Cas, and I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere." Great, now he was pouting. What the fuck was wrong with him?

"Alright, Sweetheart, alright. Do what you need to do. Dinner is set for eight, but if you can't be there, I and everyone else will understand. However, when you get home, I will make sure that you get some rest. Understand?" Dean knew that tone of voice: it was Cas' "I mean business" voice.

"Ya' know what sounds good? Dinner with the family then maybe a movie or two, if nothing pops tonight. You think Nana and Daideo would like that?" It sounded heavenly to Dean.

"As you wish." He chuckled at his mate quoting "The Princess Bride" to him yet again. 

 

Several hours later Dean was ready to shoot somebody with one of Cas' antique weapons that actually shot bullets. The manager of the cyber-cafe was insisting on a subpoena before he would let them view the tapes, Jo had gotten him an appointment with Donna for the  _ next _ day (she went home sick so he wasn't really mad at her) and now Dean was feeling even  _ more _ crappy, so maybe he was getting sick, too. He had fallen asleep at his desk while reviewing his notes and was late to his report with Commissioner Shurley who had come looking for him. Crap.

"I apologize, Commissioner. I was....ummm." He stopped mid-sentence when he realized that he could barely speak and his throat felt like it was on fire.   


"At ease, Lieutenant. I believe you have caught the bug that's been going around here in Central. Give me your notes and go home. I do not want to hear that you came in tomorrow, understand? Stay home and rest. I know you'll work at home, I certainly can't stop you, but stay at home. If you need anything done elsewhere you can send Harvelle, Bradbury or any of the others of your team. Do you understand me?" Dean handed him his reports and just barely kept himself from kicking his chair in irritation.

"Yes, Sir," he whispered.

"Good, and be warned I will be calling Cas to make sure my orders are followed." Dean watched (with his mouth wide open) in shock as his boss walked out of his office, laughing as he pulled out his phone to fulfill his promise of ratting him out.

Fuck.

Dean was gathering up his notes, just shoving them in his messenger bag and muttering curses of what he'd like to do to everyone who bossed him around when there was a knock on his door. He hadn't even realized Commissioner Shurley had closed it, dang he really  _ was _ sick.

"Come in!" he tried to yell but it came out a whisper.

"Hey, Loo." Charlie walked in without any of her bounce.

"What?" he demanded.

"I finally broke the encryption on the home system for Vasquez, but just as it was loading up it self-destructed and fried my computer." That was it. Dean began kicking his chair, desk, and wall. Son of a bitch, they needed a win.

"Now what, Loo?" He rubbed his face with his hands, making him realize he was running a high fever.

"Now, take me home. I'm too sick to drive." He wrapped the strap of his bag around his neck and walked out hoping that Cas could help retrieve whatever had been on that file.  


They were almost home when his communicator went off with a notification from Central that the cyber-cafe had burned to the ground and it had been confirmed as arson. They had found three bodies in the back.

"Turn around, take me to the morgue," he said as he began typing out a text to Cas.

Dean melted into the seat in relief when he got the answer from his alpha that he would meet him there in ten minutes, then he was going to take Dean home and take care of him and that he already had his jammies ready along with Star Wars ready to play in the theatre. He really loved his sappy frickin alpha.

 


	12. Quick note 💙💚🏹❤🏹💚💙

 

Hello ❤❤

Just a note to let our readers know that there will be a week (hopefully only a week) delay in our stories as I deal with me heart issues.

Thank you for you patience and support.

Much love,

💙💚Roo 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for you love and support. ❤❤ Fortunately I did not have another heart attack like we suspected and finding out that there was no new diseases found. I'm feeling so much better and we're back on track for a chapter every Friday.   
> Enjoy!  
> 💙💚Roo

 

 

 

Dean was standing in the middle of ruin. The cyber-cafe had burned to the ground and there was nothing but grey ash left, reminding him of a story he read about Purgatory. He made sure that every officer that was trying to sift through it to find _anything_ was wearing hazmat suits and masks, even himself. Who knew what chemicals were released from the many computers, monitors, and such that burned? While he was waiting for Cas and Dr. J., Dean was trying to find anything for Charlie to be able to take to Bobby, but he could only find bits and pieces. He'd have to ask, but it looked as if the machines had been smashed before the fire started.

Even over the smell, the horrible smell, he could instantly scent Cas when he walked to the door only to be stopped by the uniform posted there. Dean whipped his head around, his eyes locked onto his alpha and the relief about dropped him to his knees. It was that damn, stupid cold messing with him. He made his way over to Cas and let him help him out of his mask once they had stepped away from the door.

"Omega." Dean blinked away the tears that wanted to fall hearing the worry in Cas' voice.

"I'm alright, Cas. I took a Bug Zapper." He really hated the taste of those medicine shots, but it would give him an hour or so without any symptoms. The other bad part was that when the shot wore off, the symptoms came back with a vengeance.

"Well then, let's get this done so I can have you in the car before it wears off. Where do you need me, Lieutenant?" If his friends knew he'd be teased, but Dean loved it when Cas called him by his rank.

"With Charlie, she's trying to find a piece big enough to run a scan on, but so far no luck. Let me know what you think of the condition of the computers will ya, I have a theory." He helped Cas step into his hazmat suit before he realized that they were surrounded by cops. Son of a bitch! He hated being sick, made him all outta whack.

"It's alright, Darling Dean. No one was watching." He nodded his thanks at his mate's whispered assurances before he walked in to go see what Dr. J. was thinking.

 

"Dean."

"Death." He watched the smile break out on Dr. J.'s face at the nickname.

"So," he squatted next to the extremely thin pathologist. "What can you tell me before we move the bodies out?"

"Well, not much I'm afraid, Winchester. I have two males, both look to be caucasion and under thirty I'd say. The third body is female, somewhere over fifty, and of Asian nationality from what I can tell from my preliminary examination. All of them have head injuries but I won't know if that's the COD 'til I get them back to my house." Dean had been looking at the bodies but turned to look at his friend hearing weariness in his voice.

"What's going on, Death?" he asked as he helped the man up.

"Eh, just girl trouble. Haven't slept well, but don't worry, I'm good to do my job," he snapped. Dean knew then that Julian was really not happy or he would have known that he was worried about him not his work.

"Dude, I never questioned that, I'm worried about you, dumb ass. So what's going on with you and Reecie?" He had met the pretty, blonde beta at the last get together when they were celebrating their last closed case. Dean thought she and Julian were great together.

"I found out that I might be a father." Dean knew he was doing his dumb fish-outta-water face, mouth opening and closing while his eyes bugged out. Julian laughed at his reaction before sighing and explaining.

"Apparently a one-night stand from a few years ago died the day before yesterday, leaving a three year old little girl an orphan. They finally located her will and it named me as the father. I'm waiting for the DNA test." he watched as the doctor continued his examination of the victim as they spoke.

Feeling anger build, Dean tried to keep it from his voice. "Does she not want to deal with your kid?" He was prepared to destroy Reecie if she bailed on his friend for something like this and yes, he knew he was being an irrational hot-head, but Julian was one of _his_ people so it couldn't be helped.

"No, not at all." He patted Dean on the arm to help calm him. "She's spending way too much on Delilah than she should. We're fussing because she won't let me spend my own money on her." Dean laughed along with Julian very relieved that the doctors 'girl trouble' was not a break-up.

"If there is anything you need from me or Cas just let us know. I'll wait for your report, Dr. J. I'm about to finish up here and head home." He coughed out a laugh at the surprised look on the pathologist's face. "Yeah, I'm about at the end of my Bug Zapper. Have orders not to show up tomorrow. Commissioner even called me a few minutes ago to let me know that this didn't change his orders about that, but he's not gonna stop me from working at home." Giving one last look at the bodies at his feet, Dean gave them his word that he would bring the person responsible for their deaths to justice.

 

Cas had confirmed what Dean had suspected, that the computers had been smashed before the fire. Whoever was behind this was definitely versed in covering their tracks. Dean wanted Cas to go with Charlie to Bobby's domain and begin trying to work on salvaging what they could but Cas was determined to take care of Dean. So they did what they always _tried_ to do, compromise. Jo would drive Dean home (since he could barely stand on his own with the crash from the cold meds) and Cas would check in the evidence and then have Bobby sign one out to him so he could bring it home to work on _after_ Cas was assured that he was resting.

"Wow...this is awesome!" Jo squealed as soon as she sat in the driver's seat of Baby 2.0. She squeaked again when the seat adjusted to her body.

"Don't get used to it, Harvelle," he mumbled with his eyes closed.

"Yeah, I get it, Loo. You look like crap, by the way," she sing-songed to him, leaving him no other choice but to flip her off.

"Just get me home and no more high-pitched noises, please." He laid his forehead against the cool window.

"Sure thing. Oh, and I can't wait 'til Saturday. I meant to tell Cas thanks but he took off with Charlie before I could." She was wiggling in his seat, _his_ seat damn it. Wait...what?!?

"What's going on Saturday?" He waited for a minute or so with no answer which caused worry to begin in his congested chest.

"Joanna Beth Harvelle," was all he said causing her to raise her shoulders in defense. Yeah, she was definitely feeling guilty.

"Alright, no full names needed. Jeez. So, Cas and his Nana planned a day at your place on Saturday with..." she mumbled the name, but he knew with a deep dread who she said without having to hear it.

"That son of a bitch! He's siccing Rowena on me!" He was gonna kill him! How could he do this to him (again), bringing that....that witch into their home to torture him? Oh, but maybe she'll bring some new bath bombs for him. Crap.

"Wait.. _Nana_ wanted this?" He felt his anger at his alpha disappear.

"Yeah, she wanted to see everyone again and I guess she was telling Cas that you needed some 'pampering' and she wanted to have a hand in it."  He reached over to stop her from hitting the vertical button, since he didn't think his head could handle her flying right now.

"Who's 'everyone'?" he asked, as he tried to think if he needed more of Rowena's patented skin cream. He'd have to check when he got home.

"Uh, let's see...me, Charlie, Gabe, Karen, Jody, Donna, Missouri, Alfie, Piper, and of course, Nana." He had to admit it didn't sound too bad but he wasn't going to admit it to Jo.

"Damn it, Piper's gonna wanna pump me for information on the case for her show." He really liked the reporter (and when the fuck did that happen?) but it didn't mean he was ready to give her an exclusive, or anything at this point.

 

Dean walked into the house to find Nana and Crowley waiting for him. He wanted to immediately back out the door but Rufus was threading around his feet and the last thing he wanted to do was fall on his ass. Nana was walking towards him with her arms out and then she wrapped him in a hug so sweet he wanted to cry.

"Come on, Páiste." Damn it, not fair calling him baby, now he was gonna cry.

"Let's get you upstairs and changed into some comfy clothes while Fergus gets a tray ready. We made some delicious chicken noodle soup, homemade bread, and a lemon honeyed tea that will make you feel better." Dean let the tiny woman (seriously if she was actually five feet tall he'd kiss Crowley) lead him to the elevator with Rufus trailing along.

Being a strong, independent omega meant nothing when Nana wanted to take care of you. She stripped him down to his panties (and yes he'd be mortified about that later) before shooing him towards the bath she ran for him. Once assured he was in, she came in with a cup of the honeyed tea and some drops she put in the bath. The scent instantly helped him breathe a bit better and so did just being with Nana. She sat on the chair from his 'vanity' that she dragged over next to the tub. She kept up a soothing monologue of what she and Daideo had done during their site-seeing adventures while she carded her fingers through his hair.

After he finished his tea she helped him wash his hair, making him honest to God purr, something he only did for his alpha but it a _totally_ different way.

"You don't have to do all this, Nana. I'm alright." He figured he would be more convincing if he wasn't pushing his head up into her hands like Rufus did when he wanted you to keep scratching behind his ears.

"Hush, child. Let me take care of you now. Cas will be home soon then we'll sit and watch a movie while eating some lovely soup." He didn't have the energy to protest anymore.

"OK, hey...where's Daideo?" He tilted his head back to let her rinse the shampoo from his hair with the handheld shower head that was part of the tub.

"Oh, he's tinkering on something in the garage. No more questions now," she began when he would have spoken again. "It's a surprise for you and Cas, so stay out of the garage. Understand me, child?" He nodded quickly because honestly, when she used her authority voice, the small woman scared the crap out of him.

"Good. I've set some pjs here on the counter. You good to get dressed yourself?" Dean knew he looked (and felt) like shit but he could get dressed himself (he hoped), so he nodded. "I'll wait for you in your bedroom with that spoiled, fat cat of yours." She walked off laughing because they all knew she adored Rufus. Dang woman sent the furball knitted sweaters every month in different colors.

 

He had known some kindness after he escaped his tormentor from some of the foster parents he had gone to, and then when he met Missouri she showed him what it meant to have a mother figure, yet even she didn't show her love the way Nana did. Nana was an amazing woman who never let the hardships she faced (the murder of her daughter, the devastation of not being able to find Cas for years) change the way she saw the world. Sure, she had her moments of being down, times of tears, and feelings of anger, but she would shake them off to keep going. He wanted to be like Nana.

Dean dragged himself to sit next to her on the bed, flopping down on his back to look up through the humungus skylight that was above their bed to see that it was dark. He felt Nana putting on his yellow fuzzy socks that matched the bee themed jammies she had laid out for him, making him smile. When he went to thank her nothing came out but a deep horrendous cough making him sit up to catch his breath.

"Here, take this." He looked up in shock, wondering how long Crowley had been in the room and how he had missed his presence. Dean was desperate enough to get better (Hello? Chasing a murderer here) that he swallowed the purple liquid shot then grabbed his cup of coolled tea that Nana held out to him.

"Ugh!" he whispered as he fought to keep the medicine down. It was really nasty.

"Don't be such a baby...Ow!" Dean knew it was childish but he couldn't resist sticking his tongue out at Crowley with a smile when Nana smacked the short alpha on the back of the head for picking on him.

"Leave him be, Fergus. Leave him be." She took Dean's empty mug over to the seating area to refill it. "Cas called to say he'd be here within the half hour, so please, Fergus, will you set up dinner in the theatre room? Shamus has the movie set up already, and please inform him it's time to come in and wash up."

"Yes, Nana." That was the other marvelous thing about Nana: Crowley _listened and obeyed_ her requests. Even as sick as he was feeling it made Dean do a happy butt wiggle on the bed making Nana look up at him and wink. 

 

They moved down to the theatre room to wait for Cas, snuggling up in the soft, reclining chaises and sipping tea, listening to Daideo talking about how the rest of the family was doing over in Dublin. There were quite a few family members over there (they had visited sometime last year and seen them all) but Cas' grandparents wanted to come on their own for a vacation, not just a visit. Cas had a few aunts and uncles and Dean didn't think he could count how many cousins there were. Plus they just kept multiplying!

Daideo had put on a record (Cas and his antiques) that was playing softly in the background, and when the next song began Nana looked at her husband with a blush on her cheeks. Dean watched as the older alpha held his hand out to his wife, asking her to dance to the slow Irish song that was now playing. He had no idea what was being sung, but he could read the love on the faces of his family: love, pure love. Just as he began to feel a bit left out (stupid cold meds), he caught the scent of his mate as he was coming down the hallway. Turning away from the dancing he looked over his shoulder in time to see Cas walk into the room wearing his matching bee jammies. Sappy frickin' alpha even had on the same fuzzy socks.

"Darling Dean." Dean felt the butterflies in his stomach take off watching his mate vault over the back of the chaise to land softly next to him and got immediately pulled into his arms so he could scent him.

"Find anything?" he croaked the words out. Even whispering hurt his throat.

"Hmm, Charlie and Bobby are at Central working on a few of the units that they _may_ be able to piece together. I brought some bits home and I connected them to the unregistered working on formatting some things while I'm here with you and the grands. I'll check on them in a bit but don't worry, Omega. I have set an alarm that will let me know if anything pops up before then."

Dean nodded against his mate's shoulder trying to think of what their next move should be but fuck if his cold and the meds haven't scrambled his brain. "Thanks, Cas. I don't know what I and the department would do without you." He turned so he could snuggle completely into his alpha's side having smelled Crowley come in with a cart full of yummy smelling soup and fresh, hot bread.

"Well, anything for you, Darling Dean and if that means becoming friends and family with a bunch of cops, so be it." Dean knew he was being teased, but really when they first met Cas was not entirely thrilled to always being surrounded by cops since he used to be a criminal or some shit like that.

Dean hummed a thank you when Daideo placed a tray full of food over his lap. The soup was full of chicken, veggies, and thick egg noodles, and was well worth the interruption of his Cas-snuggling. The steam coming from it felt wonderful as he leaned over the bowl to take a deep sniff which brought a loud growl from his stomach. He blushed when Nana giggled at him but he blew her a kiss (unlike the finger he flipped up over his shoulder to Crowley who was back there laughing at him). Dean did a mini happy dance when he spotted the homemade butter that he immediately schmeared on his bread. Once everyone had their tray and was comfortable,  Crowley started the movie, "Star Wars: A New Hope." Dean always loved these movies, having had a crush on Harrison Ford since he had first found the series in the archives of the library when he was younger.

 

After the movie (which he had to admit, he had dozed through the second half), they said goodnight to the grands then Dean followed Cas to the unregistered office. Dean curled in the grand, overstuffed chair in the corner while Cas went to work. He watched as the alpha put his shaggy hair up in a hair tie, which indicated he was 'getting down to it', in his own words. Dean loved the look on the man, and it almost made him wish he knew him back when he was far on the other side of the law. He loved imagining Cas dressed in all black, fighting against other alphas for the money that had been wagered on them. He knew there were worse crimes Cas had committed (duh), but the thought of his alpha fighting always did things to his inner omega. It was one of the reasons they always ended up fucking in the gym after they sparred together. Good thing it was a home gym.

"Omega, stop. You're sick." Dean threw his head back and laughed (although silently, damn sore throat), realizing that his thoughts had been broadcasted through his scent.

Next thing he knew he was being tucked in their bed, snuggled up with his mate and cat. He must have fallen asleep while Cas was working. Dean slipped one leg between his mate's so he could pull himself closer to his body. He wanted, no, _needed_ the warmth that constantly came from Cas' skin. Feeling the strong arms around him, Dean tucked his head under his alpha's chin (which wasn't easy since they were about the same size) and he wiggled around until he was right where he needed to be.

"Sleep, Darling Dean. I'm right here, I'll watch over you." He purred at the words from his mate and he heard an answering purr from Rufus, who had draped himself over Dean's hip, which was the fat feline's favorite place to sleep.

 

When he woke up in the morning (much later than normal, judging by the brightness coming from behind the shield over the skylight) he smelled tea and Nana. He rolled over to face the seating area to see her sipping from a mug (smelled like honeyed tea) and watching the screen with the sound off following the cooking program with the Closed Captions on. She heard him moving around so she walked over, bringing a mug for himself. He sat up to accept it while making room for her to sit next to him on the side of the bed.

"Good morning, Páiste. How are you feeling?" He wanted to cry at her gentle kiss on his forehead to check for a temperature. The first time she did that last night about broke him, too.

"Mmm," was all he could get out, so he shook his head negatively. He felt worse than last he did last night.

"Poor, darling. Let me get the medicine Fergus brought you. Cas is in his home office and I'm supposed to buzz him when you wake up." Dean gently wrapped his hand around her wrist to stop her but when he tried to talk it was impossible. He grabbed his tablet from the bedside table and typed out what he wanted to say. **"Let me use the bathroom, then I'll take my meds and go see Cas in person."**

She read his message then kissed his cheek, telling him that was fine. Making his way into the bathroom, he glanced in the mirror and wished he hadn't. His hair was all over the place, looking like he had way more fun last night than he did. The flush on his cheeks told him he did have a fever, and his green eyes looked rather glassy and weak. Shaking his head, he continued on because he had to piss badly due to all the tea he had been drinking.

After finishing in the bathroom he made his way back to Nana (after giving Rufus some lovin' and fishy snacks) to take his medicine. He may have to beg Crowley to make it a bit stronger, because he had work to do. The grumpy fucking alpha may be the biggest thorn in Dean's backside but he did take care of them well and his background as a medic in the last big war came in handy. Dean chugged the meds, realizing Crowley was being nice since it was the honey flavored meds and not the grape. Dean had never been a huge honey fan until he had met his alpha. The blue-eyed angel was a demon for the stuff.

"Shamus and I are going to go to the market with Fergus this morning, my dear. I want to get some things to make dinner tonight. Something comforting like the chicken soup. When we get back I would like to spend some time on a project I have in mind. I need to pick your brain, alright? As long as you feel like it, of course." Dean was nodding enthusiastically. He would do anything for this tiny woman filled with light and love.

"Good, now, let's go see Cas." They walked arm in arm (with Rufus leading the way, tail held high, tip twitching back and forth) to Cas' office. 

 

Dean stopped in the doorway, blown away again by the love he felt for this man. It got to him now and then out of the blue just how much he loved and was loved in return. How much he gained from letting his alpha in, and he wasn't talking about the big house, cars, vacations, no, none of that. He had gained a home, he gained unconditional love and support. Someone who would challenge him (piss him off more than not) but would back Dean up in anything and everything he wanted to do. He could feel the tears begin to drip from his eyelashes as his alpha wrapped him in his arms. Dean held on, wrapped his legs around Cas' waist and just held on because he could. He could be sick, weak, and emotional with his alpha and he would still look at him with respect, and never thinking any less of Dean.

"любимый, декан." it was bad enough when Cas called him that in English, but Darling Dean in Russian caused him to melt even when he wasn't sick. Sappy frickin' alpha, and thank goodness he was Dean's.

 


	14. Chapter 14

 

 

Dean was happy. He was sick as a dog (and he wondered where that saying started), but happy having breakfast with Cas and the grands. He was especially happy to have some coffee to go with his waffles and bacon. Most mornings Cas programmed something  _ healthy  _ for their breakfast, but when he knew Dean was having A Day, his alpha gave him the good stuff. Something to smother in maple syrup and bacon. Umm, bacon. He was plotting the rest of his morning (since he had murderer to catch), and knowing that he would be confined to working from home, he sent out a group message to his team that he was to be kept informed and he wanted them to come to him to report. He sent a second message saying there would be coffee and donuts made available.  


"Dean?" He glanced over to Daideo to see him looking at Dean with a questioning look on his face. Crap. What had he zoned out on now?

"Sorry, Daideo, I was thinking about work." He felt horrible.

"No worries, немногое, no worries. I just wanted to know if you needed or wanted anything special from the farmer's market. I am going with Crowley." Dean really loved the pet names the grands called him, even when he was called little, which Cas had explained was Daideo's way of calling him his own.

"I can't think of anything. You're not going, Nana?" He turned to see her shaking her head.

"No, сын, I am going to putter around in the kitchen to make you two an amazing lunch." He chuckled to himself for he hadn't been a 'boy' in forever, but it was another name he loved from them.

"Wait...us two? I thought you had a meeting on Ursa Major?" Dean was glad he wasn't the one who had meetings on different planets, because shuttle rides made him crazy!

"I postponed it, Darling Dean. Missouri is going to handle the office while I work from home. Don't..." his mate interrupted him before he could interrupt Cas, "I can do most anything here and here is where I want to be."  


Well, crap, he couldn't argue with that or the fact that it  _ did _ make him feel better knowing that his mate and Nana were sticking close for the day. Sappy frickin' omega was what he was. Luckily for him (Wow, he thought seeing Crowley was lucky? He really was sick), Crowley came in the room like a hurricane heading off Dean's emotional outburst before it happened.

"Bobby Singer just called and said he would be here within an hour. He said he's bringing you something work related and non-work related. The droids just finished cleaning your office so it's clear for you as soon as you're ready, Dean. Here's your meds, and I've stocked your desk with tissues, cough drops, and such." Realizing he was sounding a bit too caring, the alpha left the room saying, "he couldn't have Dean dying on his watch, because Cas would never forgive him."

"He's such a softie." Not daring to disagree, Dean gave Nana the stink eye (and a kiss on the top of her head), and walked out of the small dining area that Cas had set up on the balcony that connected their offices and looked over the orchard. 

 

After throwing a hissy fit (it was epic, he kicked every piece of furniture in his office, scaring poor Rufus enough that he ran to Cas' office) when he realized that Cas had tricked him into promising to stick to tea the rest of the day (damn distracting kisses), Dean eventually sat down to work at his computer. While he was waiting for his reports to load and about to call and check in with his division, he sneezed, and sneezed, over and over again. He lost count at ten until it was finally over. Head feeling like it was full of concrete, he blew his nose and popped a cough drop in his mouth. This was fun.

"Detective Makridakis speaking." When Dean went to respond it came out as a croak. Fuck.

"Hello? This is Detective Makridakis, Homicide Division. Can I help you?" Dean was happy at how polite his detective was but he still couldn't answer. He hung up and texted the detective who assured him that things were running smoothly and they all knew to text him if they needed anything. After thanking the man for his well wishes Dean got down to reading his reports and sipping honey tea. He would not admit it felt good going down his throat.

 

Crowley had just informed him that Bobby was about twenty minutes out, when Cas came into his office. The alpha had changed from his suit to some faded jeans and Dean's old faded AC/DC t-shirt. Apparently his video conferences were over for the day. He placed a small plate on his desk containing one of Dean's favorite chocolate chip cookies. Dean blew him a kiss before eating a quarter of it in one bite, which was impressive because it was a huge cookie.

"Fanks, apa." They both laughed at how ridiculous he sounded talking with a mouth full of cookie.

"Dean, you'll choke!" Nana tried to gave him the evil eye around her laughter as she walked in, bringing her knitting bag with her.

"I'm fine, Nana," he replied after swallowing a sip of tea to help the cookie go down. "Whatcha doing?"

"I was going to sit in here with you for a bit, if I won't be in the way?" He was curious as to what she was up to (and the look she gave him when Cas turned to the Auto-Chef told him she  _ was  _ up to something), so he just nodded and watched as she climbed into a large chair in the corner.

Cas served them all some fresh, hot tea before kissing them both then headed back to his office. Dean broke the rest of his cookie in half and gave Nana a piece. He sat on the arm of her chair to watch her knit for a few minutes, waiting for her to speak. When she didn't, he finally broke the silence.

"What's shaking, Nana?" He nudged her gently with his hip.

"I have something I need you to do for me, Dean." Well, she was nervous if she's calling him by his name.

"Sure. What is it?" Dean waited as she laid her knitting down carefully in her lap before she looked up at him.

"Mine and Shamus' sixtieth anniversary is this fall, and I want you and Cas to come to Ireland....for a month." She closed her eyes tight and he knew she was preparing for him to say no. There were a few reasons he  _ could _ say no; his fear of flying and being away for so long for both of them could be problematic, but...this was the grands.

"Of course, Nana. We'll make it happen. Can I ask why a whole month?" It made him feel good that he could make her radiate 'happy omega' with his assurances.

"Well, Gasúr, it's more than our anniversary that we'll be celebrating. The week after ours is Cas' mum's birthday. Nadia would have been fifty years old this year and we thought it was high time to have another party for her." Blinking back the tears, Dean pull her closer to him just needing to comfort her and receive a bit for himself.

"What a wonderful idea, Nana." He admitted to himself he thought it was a bit strange, but if it was what they needed, well, he had their backs.

"I wanna do something special for her, ya' see. I want to plant a garden of her favorite things and I was thinking that each member of the family could plant one type." She looked at him for approval, which she didn't  _ need, _ but it was a teaghlach thing (and he was all about family these days) and a bit of an omega thing.

"I think that's great! What kind do you want Cas and me to bring?" He figured there was a good chance that whatever she wanted was already in the greenhouse.

"I'll have to think on it, but thank you for alleviating an ol' omega's fears." She stood to leave but turned back to kiss his forehead. "Hmm...fever is still there. I'll have Fergus put some meds on your lunch tray, since it's too early yet for another dose.

 

Dean was reading Dr. J's report on the victims of the cyber-cafe fire (what was the name of that damn place?) fast forwarding to the cause of deaths: smoke inhalation. They had been beaten with a large object (Doc suspected a sledgehammer but was waiting for further tests) but could have lived if not for the fire. He confirmed in a report from the Fire Chief that it was indeed arson, since they found excelerant in ten different spots in the small space.  


He was updating his murder board (while sipping hot honey tea, he  _ was  _ sick after all and still in his jammies) to add the three victims to the murderers' bodies, bringing the count to six. Dean was gonna make sure they paid for each and every one of them. Pinning up the pictures he had printed from their files, he wrote their information underneath.

First: Jordan Anderson, white male, thirty years old, single, employed as a car mechanic at Fast & Quick, a garage specializing in tune-ups.  


Second: Eryn Michaels, white female, nineteen years old, boyfriend Wyatt Jones, college student (both) at Smith Community College.  


Third: Gia Sorrentino, white female, forty-one years old, divorced from Andrew Sorrentino for three years, shared custody of their four years old son, Morgan.

 

Dean had been talking into his recorder (which he had clipped to his sleep pants pocket), when he heard a commotion headed up the stairs. He cocked his head (just like his alpha, dammit), to hear Crowley telling Bobby to "hand it over," along with Rufus meowing up a storm...what the actual fuck? And then all three of them entered his office.

"Crowley, back off man." Bobby was holding something close to his chest. Whatever it was, Crowley wanted it and so, apparently, did Rufus who was trying to climb up Bobby's leg.

"What the fuck?" He  _ tried _ to yell as he grabbed Rufus, the tubbo.

"He won't give me the sweetheart!" Crowley yelled, causing him to do the head tilt again...son of a bitch!  


"What?!?" He walked over and put Rufus in the hall, slamming the door before he could sneak back in.

"Look, I was on my way here and I stopped by The Router Banks  _ (that _ was the name of the damn cafe!) 'cause one of my boys picked up something on one of the street cameras from across the street." Dean was about to tell him to hurry the fuck up when he heard a little "mew" from Bobby's chest.

"Gimme!" He whispered as he began pulling the older alpha's arms apart to discover a kitten.  


"Oh, my." She (yes, he checked) was adorable. He vaguely heard Bobby talking about finding her in the rubble trying to drink from a puddle and how he had been concerned about what could be in the water, so he grabbed her.

Dean sat in the chair that Nana had left earlier to curl up with the itty bitty. She was a gorgeous combination of black, brown, orange, with little tufts of white. Her eyes were the color of a halloween pumpkin, a glorious orange that seem to shimmer as she blinked up at him. Dean felt his heart thump as he fell for this tiny ball of fluff when she raised her paw to pat him on his chin. Looking, he noticed that on her front paws her dew claws were different than Rufus'. It looked like she had thumbs.

 

 

"Dean, really, let me have her. She needs a good cuddle along with nourishment." He looked at Crowley, but held fast to the kitten.

"Go get her some water. Also, call the vet and tell him we'll be bringing her within the hour." He dismissed Crowley from his thoughts as he rubbed his chin over the top of her head. Her purr melted him even further.

"I'm keeping her, Bobby," he whispered in the kitten's ear, causing her to shake her head. Too damn cute.

"Yeah, I figured that out, kid, when you snatched her from me." He was glad to hear the laughter in the alpha's voice, because he would've fought him for the kitten, sick or not.

"I just added the victims from The Router Banks to my board. What else ya' got for me?" he asked. The kitten was getting comfortable on his chest and was drifting off to sleep.

"We have a two second clip of video of the last person to walk inside before every camera in a four block area went dead." Dean could see by the set of Bobby's shoulders as he programmed a coffee that he was  _ pissed _ . The alpha hated when someone outsmarted electronics.

"Okay, but I'm sure you can get something from the image for us to go on, right?" He knew he was stroking the man's ego a bit, but sometimes ya' had to do what ya' had to do.

"Leave me be, idjit. I don't need you telling me I'm smart or better than the perp, I know that! It's just another pain in my ass in this case. So, where's Cas?" Sipping his coffee, Bobby started walking toward the door that led into his alpha's office.

Dean just pointed since he was tired of straining his barely-existent voice. He was just gonna cuddle with his little...hmm. She needed a name cuz he was sure as hell keeping her, as long as she didn't belong to someone already. If she got lost, he assumed he would find posters from the owners looking for the precious Queen. If she was abandoned...well then, she needed a name. Queen seemed good, even though she was still an itty bits, but it needed a bit more. Rubbing his cheek against the top of her head,  he looked around his office trying to think of something to add to her name and at the same time he was making a mental list of what he wanted Jo to do when she arrived. She had texted that she and Charlie were on the way, probably after they stopped for one of those crappy soy dogs (why? why not just let people have real meat? Not that hot dogs  _ had  _ real meat before the government went wacky but still!) that they loved so much...yuck. Finally his eyes stopped on the calendar that was hanging above the credenza, behind his desk. Cas had given it to him last Christmas and every month was a different picture from gardens. This month, while not May, was showing the lilacs that bloomed all around their private patio in May...hmmm. QueenMae it is then. When he whispered it in her ear, she batted him on the nose and snorted. Yeah, he was a capital-G, Goner.

 

When Jo and Charlie arrived, he had to threaten them with no more of Cas' coffee, ever, to make them leave his kitten alone. She drank some water and was playing on his desk with one of Rufus' feather toys. After Bobby and Cas had begun trying to descramble the video feed, Cas had come to meet the newest member of the family. The alpha had made sure that Dean was aware they  _ had  _ to see if she was lost before they could keep her, but he had brought the toy in for her. Rufus was in love with her, too, once they had introduced them properly. He was sitting tall on the corner of Dean's desk, watching the puff-ball play and he could swear the flubby male was smiling at her. He, for damn sure, was purring.

Jo was going over the reports coming in on the cafe victims' backgrounds. They had to follow procedure, making sure that there was nothing in their lives that could have made one of them into a distinct target. So the department tore into their families, friends, current and past relationships, criminal records--the whole damn lot had to be gone over. Dean (along with everyone else) knew that these victims were spur of the moment kills by their murderer, not pieces in the game they had begun playing, but little extra bonus points as Charlie called them in her gaming lingo.  


He was trying to focus on reading what Jo had sent to him, but he was having trouble keeping his eyes open after his last dose of meds. He refused (refused, he said!) to take a nap before they took QueenMae to the vet, got an all clear on her health and found out what the tender young thing should be eating. She had given up on the feather to climb up on the back of his neck to try and eat his hair, silly poofie. The second he felt himself jerk up from almost falling asleep for the  _ third  _ fucking time,  he stood up, placed his hand on QueenMae's tiny tushy holding her steady on his neck and made his way into his alpha's office. There he found Cas, Bobby, and Charlie all talking at once, not to each other but to the code they were chasing somewhere in cyberspace on their computers. Nerds. Gotta love 'em.

"Cas, it's time to go," he mouthed when the alpha looked up and he caught Dean's scent.

"Yes, of course, Dean. One moment." He watched as Cas's fingers flew over the keyboard, the same fingers that could drive him to distraction in an instant, but not today. He was sick, damn it, and he had a new "lil one" to get checked out. Not that he would call her that around anyone but his mate. He had his image to uphold after all. He was a badass, ass kicking, head breaking lieutenant in the Homicide Division of the NYPD. But dammit, he had the sniffles now. So much fun.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The kitty pictured is an Exotic Shorthair. I love their smushy faces.  
> \--QM


	15. Chapter 15

 

 

Dean was laughing (silently) hard enough that he was having trouble breathing. Cas was driving them home from the vet, Dr. Doolittle (he actually changed his name, the freaky dude), after getting QueenMae checked out. She was given a good bill of health, some age appropriate kitten chow, and a shot. Poor puss, she wasn't real thrilled with that, but Dr. Doolittle gave her a blade of grass to help her get over her hissy fit.   


She was curled up in the hand cozy in his oversized hoodie which he wore whenever he was feeling like crap. It used to be Cas' until he stole it shortly after they had mated. He was having so much fun teasing her with his finger, just waving it in the opening to watch her little tushy raise up before she tried to catch his finger with her lil' paw. The vet had assured them that her front paws wouldn't cause her trouble. They were just extra toes and he called them "Polydactyl.". Six little toes per paw, making her look like she had thumbs. Her feet looked a bit too big for her, but it was so damn cute. Once they were in the car Cas had said that it made her sound like she was their mini dinosaur, and he began singing.   


Many people never got the chance to see his alpha so free, being silly, or his softer side unless it was directed at Dean. Feeling his inner omega begin purring at how relaxed Cas was feeling, how happy, made Dean laugh even more. He remembered when they had watched all the Ice Age movies (they loved to watch animated movies while chowing down tacos about once a week), since it had been when Gabe and Sammy came back from a fashion week in Paris. Gabe had managed to get Cas up with him to teach him how to "do the dinosaur, Cassie!" while they both sang the song that the alpha was now singing to the kitten.

 

Boom boom acka-lacka lacka boom

Boom boom acka-lacka boom boom

It was a night like this forty million years ago

I lit a cigarette, picked up a monkey skull to go

The sun was spitting fire, the sky was blue as ice

I felt a little tired, so I watched Miami Vice

And walked the dinosaur, I walked the dinosaur

 

Open the door, get on the floor

Everybody walk the dinosaur

Open the door, get on the floor

Everybody walk the dinosaur

Open the door, get on the floor

Everybody walk the dinosaur

Open the door, get on the floor

Everybody walk the dinosaur

 

Before Cas could sing the whole song Dean tapped him on the leg before he pointed left and, in pure Cas fashion, his alpha knew that he wanted him to turn left at the next light to go to their favorite gelato shop. He had a taste for it and knew it would feel good on his inflamed throat.

"Of course, Darling Dean. Gelato sounds delicious, and what flavor are you thinking of?" he asked as he moved over to the left lane and slowed for the red light.

"Mmm...coffee." It was one of his favorite flavors (second only to chocolate) and it was a coffee kinda day.

"I believe I'll have the same. We should get a few pint containers of different flavors to take home for the grands." He nodded in agreement but snuggled deeper into his seat when Cas parked at the curb in front of Gelato For Life!. He was staying put with QueenMae, since Cas could go 'hunt and gather' the gelato for his mate. Dean was comfy.

  
  


Dean was in his office finishing his treat and listening to Jo's report regarding the background checks on the latest three victims. She wasn't finding anything (no surprise there) that would indicate a motive to kill any of them, so it increasingly continued to point to being part of their game. At the same time, he kept an eye on the clock because he had made Nana promise that she would make Crowley bring his baby girl back to him within the hour. The crotchety, older alpha wanted some bonding time with the kitten, as well as to feed her and show her around her new home.   


Dean didn't like it, but Cas had posted a notice online regarding a found kitten. He didn't mention her dino-feeties, saying that the fact would be a determining clue as to the true owner. The vet had found no chip in her and nor had any owners looking for a lost kitten. He didn't know if it was just being sick or something in Crowley's cold meds, but he was definitely feeling very emotional, so much so that he checked his calendar to see when his heat was due. Luckily, he had a few months before he'd be out of commission for about a week, so he was now positive that the strange alpha was somehow dosing him with feelings (He knew it wasn't possible really, but it was fun to blame Crowley for everything he could so he did).

After Jo's report, he began reading Dr. J.'s autopsies from the cyber-cafe (why couldn't he remember the name of the damn place!?), which confirmed that they  _ could  _ have survived the beating they took if the perp hadn't set the fire. Julian also confirmed they were beaten with a sledge hammer (a Craftman's 8lb.) based on his comparisons by swinging sledge hammers into a specific molding material. Bobby made a note that he believed it was the same one that smashed all the electronics, based on the miniscule metal shavings he had found in the mother-boards. He sent Porter a note telling him to start checking for new purchases of sledge hammers in the surrounding area, starting a week ago. Dean didn't believe it was bought more than 24-36 hours before it was used, but he wanted to play it safe. It could end up being one that the murderer already had in their garage, but his intuition wasn't really in agreement so he followed his hunch.

 

When Bobby walked into his office, he was curled up in the corner comfy chair, and  _ still _ reading reports (on his case and on the other homicide cases in his division) while he drank some more tea that Nana had brought him. She had checked his temperature, and finding it still "too high for these lips" (never a thermometer just a kiss on his forehead), she also brought him some plain old Tylenol.   


"Where'sa kitten?" Dean knew he was glaring at the alpha who was only fixing himself a coffee to go, but he couldn't help it. He was cranky. He pointed behind his own shoulder and watched the confusion play across his mentor's face.

"Well damn, that's cute." Bobby had walked over to see QueenMae curled up in Dean's hood, sound asleep with a feather toy in her front paws. Dean had taken a few pics of her and planned on printing some out for a frame for their bedroom.

"Alright, I'm headed into the office for a bit to check in with my boys, then I'm going home to the missus before she forgets what I look like." He sipped his coffee with the blissful look everyone gets when drinking Cas' brew. Dean raised his hands in a questioning shrug, wanting to know what they discovered, and Dean was grateful the older alpha understood him so well.

"Hmm...not much. We've got a definite picture of his ear, and the color of his hair. Cas has got it ready for you to look at when you want. We're gonna keep looking at it separately tonight, then smack our heads together tomorrow morning. Make sure Crowley makes omelettes." Then he listened to Bobby laugh as he walked down the stairs, knowing that Crowley would make anything for the alpha. Dean  _ hated _ how the two of them flirted and he couldn't be sure that something hadn't happened there, but he was not gonna think about it now. Eww.

He carefully made his way into Cas' office (always leave sleeping queens lie), to quietly sit in the visitors chair as the alpha spoke to Missouri about rearranging some things he had scheduled in the morning. Apparently, he was going to be working from home again since Cas was planning on it. He knew the cold was kicking his ass if that didn't bother him. Generally, he preferred to be out on the street with his fingers in every part of an investigation, but he and his mate had taught each other compromise. Now, once he was better, all bets were off and he'd be pounding the pavement with the rest of his team, but for now he was ready for a meal with his alpha and the grands. After that, he wanted more gelato while he cuddled with Cas and the cats in their bed as they watched another episode of an old cop show they liked called "Timeless." Dean teased his mate about one of the actors that looked just like him, causing the alpha to sputter and stammer. It was just too cute.

"Are you over this day as much as I am, Omega?" He came out of the reverie of Cas as a cop when he heard him speak. He nodded his head before he pointed to the door that could take them to the secret room full of unregistered computers.

"You want me to run something?" he asked as he moved next to him, so he could show Dean the ear and hair of their suspect. It wasn't much at all, but it's what they had. Dean nodded again and waved his arms around (gently, sleeping kitten on board after all) to show he meant  _ everything. _

"You want me to run it all?" Dean kissed Cas on the nose with a smile to show that the alpha was right. His intuition, gut reaction, or inner omega sense (whatever one wanted to label it) was telling him there wasn't too much time before the perp would get back to his game, meaning Dean would have another victim soon.

"No problem, Darling Dean. After that, what would you like to do?" He typed out what he had been thinking on his wrist unit and saw the smile come across Cas' face as he read the message.

"Perfect, Dean. I only have two small additions. One, Gabriel will be joining us for dinner, since he is done at the studio early tonight and..." he gave Dean a stern look when he paused, so he knew he wasn't gonna like the next addition. "Alfie will be here momentarily to check on you. Before you start, Crowley is worried, which makes the rest of us worry." Dean motioned for him to continue, but he was still throwing his mate a stinky face.

"Crowley believes his cold remedies should have worked by now, so....I really need you to let Alfie do a quick exam, please." Fucker. Cas could throw the puppy dog eyes better than anyone, but to give him credit he only used them when he knew how bad Dean would fight him on something that was most likely the best course of action.

"Fine," he whispered, "but I want three scoops of gelato after dinner." He turned his back to Cas and smiled hearing the bark of laughter from him when QueenMae stirred and poked her sleepy head out from his hood. He felt the alpha pull her out and turned back in time to see him kissing all over her sweet face, making her purr. Sappy fricking pair they were.

  
  


Dean had just gotten out of the shower (having enjoyed watching the kitten batting at water droplets from  _ outside _ the glass), and walked into the bedroom to find Alfie in the seating area. He was glad he had taken his boxers into the bathroom with him, although as his doctor, Alfie had seen him naked plenty of times.

"Oh, this is the baby?" Alfie grabbed QueenMae right from his arms so he could rub her face against his. Nodding, he sat down in his chair after getting Rufus to make room for him. The kitten only tolerated Alfie for so long before squirming,  so Alfie allowed her to jump down and she promptly curled up on the older cat's back so she could keep her eye on the stranger.

"Alright," the doctor began as he sat back down and opened his medical bag. It was just like the old fashioned black bags the doctors long ago used. Cas had it made for him last Christmas from the both of them. "Crowley has told me what you've been taking and your cold  _ should _ be getting better. I'm concerned that your tonsils are infected, meaning you need a course of antibiotics. I'm also going to give you a shot of B12 and some vitamin C lozenges with an additive that will make it easier for you to swallow."   


Dean hated getting shots, dammit. He had to get certain boosters every other year, though since he worked with the public and some nasty criminals didn't care if they were sick or if they bit you...eww. He sat through the exam, taking pleasure in sticking his tongue out at Alfie while he looked at his throat. The doctor just laughed at him and pinched his cheek. Dean was pouting at Alfie as he was getting his shots ready, when the whirlwind that was named Gabriel blew into the bedroom.

"Hello, Loves!" The omega skipped over to sit next to Dean on the bed.   


"Dude, what the fuck are you  _ not  _ wearing?" He couldn't get his brain to understand what it was seeing and he was so over not being able to do more than a pathetic whisper.  


Gabriel was wearing an orange mesh band around his chest that he supposed was to cover his nips, but didn't. Then there were...shorts? Dean assumed they were shorts, but they weren't much wider than the nip band and they were metallic shimmery, glittery, glowy purple. He hadn't felt nauseous before but he might be soon. When Gabe flopped back to let QueenMae play with the feathers that were clipped into his hair (they were red feathers...of course they were), Dean saw his boots. Oh fuck, the boots. They were black leather, thigh-high boots with cut out shapes that had what looked like different colored LED lights in each one. Holy Batcrap his bestie was an odd duck, but he loved the short ball of unlimited energy.

"Oh, wow. She's perfect, Deanie-Beanie! Cute and cuddly just like you." Dean couldn't help but smile at the maniacal laughter that came from the colorful omega on his left. Just as he was gonna start poking Gabe, Alfie stepped up into his eyesight. Crap.

"Don't give me that look, Winchester. It's two shots and a few days worth of pills that I guarantee will make you feel like leaving the house soon. Not tomorrow, but the day after. I want you to stay in tomorrow and rest. I know you'll work, but at least at home you can be looked after a bit." Dean stuck his tongue out at Alfie again. He really wanted his voice back.

  
  


Dinner was amazing and, since he had used one of Alfie's lozenges, hallelujah, it didn't feel like he was swallowing glass while he ate. Crowley had made a perfect boiled dinner for the grands. Corned beef, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage all in a yummy broth with freshly made bread and butter. The alpha's wizardry was the main reason Dean hadn't stunned him over the years--that and the way he had rescued Cas when he was a young, wild alpha with only bad influences surrounding him. Crowley had taught him more ways to make a buck without it being legal, but he had been the first (and only for a long time) to support Cas when he decided to go legit.

Dean ate until he could barely walk away from the table while still managing to have gelato for dessert, but the sight at the bottom of the steps stopped him in his. Rufus was laying on the second step from the top with QueenMae trying her hardest to go down the first one. Rufus was encouraging her with purrs and nose rubs, but the kitten was too scared to step off. Queen was crying, wanting down so bad and was trembling. He couldn't take it, so he ran up the steps causing Cas to call out for him. He hadn't been able to see the cats since he was talking to Daideo about playing golf before the grands went back home.

"Dean?" He heard his mate jog up the stairs after him, probably concerned that he was feeling sick.

Dropping to his knees next to Rufus, Dean scooped up the kitten and pulled her to his chest. He ran his hand down Rufus' back telling him he was a good big brother while kissing her head and telling her she'd learn. When he felt Cas next to him, he handed the baby to his alpha so he could grab his favorite male cat and walk him upstairs. He was gonna get so many fishie shaped treats and even some catnip! Sweet boy!

  
  


Dean was dreaming that he was swimming in their pool, but it was filled with gelato, not water, and his alpha was dressed like they did way back in the day, kinda like that character from "Timeless," when his dream was rudely interrupted by the sound of his communicator going off. Groaning, he sat up enough to prop up on his elbow before telling the machine to be voice activated only, since no one wanted to see him at 0500, half naked, with hair everywhere.

"Lieutenant Winchester," he answered and realized he could whisper now without pain. Yay, Alfie.

"Lieutenant Winchester, be advised that units have responded to a call of a dead body called in by an anonymous source. Commissioner Shurley is on his way after calling in Captain Singer, Det. Bradbury, along with Dr. Julian. Commissioner Shurley has advised that they will meet at your home office as soon as possible after examining the crime scene. Also that if you show up to the scene he will have you restrained."   


"Acknowledged," he whispered.   


He felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over his head. Dean could feel Cas leave the bed, and knew he was heading towards the Auto-Chef, having heard the transmission from Central as well as he had. He sat with his head in his hands, listening to Cas talk to Crowley over the house intercom, requesting him to have some food ready, since there was to be a meeting probably in a couple of hours, but that he'd keep him informed. Dean tried to hear Crowley's response but it was too quiet. However, he did hear his mate confirming that there was another murder.

He was pissed--pissed the fuck off as well as sick to his stomach that another person lost the rest of their life due to someone's screwy thought that they had the right to end it. Dean was determined to end this, and soon.

Commissioner Shurley hand delivered the next game card to Dean as soon as he walked into his home office, then headed straight for the coffee. Dean began examining the card through the plastic sheeting protecting it, since he didn't feel like putting on the sealant. It was the game card for Carlos Vasquez' murder, found at the murder scene of Jill Newman, a licensed therapist who was shot in her conservatory. Dean never knew what that was until he mated Cas and moved into this maze of rooms that his mate had built. His sappy frickin alpha said (many times) that it had been "a house of bricks and mortar 'til Dean moved in and made it a home."

 

 

Dean got himself another cup of coffee as the rest of his team filed in, stampeding towards the chow Crowley had provided. Time to get to work.

  
  
  



	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the delay in posting. No excuses, but I'm sorry.  
> Also, site is being a pain and I can't post the pics that go with chapter. As soon as I can I will  
> 💙💚Roo
> 
> UPDATE: pics have been uploaded to chapter.

 

 

 

Dean was sitting at his desk (back in his jammies) drinking coffee while he read the incoming reports on the newest murder. He had wanted to jump into his car so he could get his own eyes on the scene, but he almost tipped over while he tried to put on his boots...damn antibiotics did it to him every time. After that, Cas asked him to work from home like Alfie told him and the Commissioner ordered it, assholes (not Cas, obviously). As he was still grumbling about it to himself he spotted something on the video from the scene that he needed a closer look at. When he couldn't zoom in enough he called Jo, who was still at the cafe. 

"Hey, Loo. Whatcha need?" He was constantly pleased at how Jo handled herself. She had come a long way from the uniformed officer she was when he found her.

"Yeah, Harvelle. There's something behind that table against the wall but kinda under the edge of the rug." He watched as she walked to where he was directing her. As soon as he saw what she pulled out, he wondered if this was the break they were needing.

"Damn, Loo. I'll bring this to you right now!" He told her to hurry then hung up on her to call Commissioner Shurley to let him know that they may have found something.

"I apologize, Winchester. I shouldn't have missed that." Dean cringed hearing the almost defeated tone in the man's voice.

"Sir, it was barely noticeable and I had the advantage of being able to scrutinize a photo." He really wasn't good at bolstering someone. 

"Can it, Detective. I know I screwed up, but let's move on. I can beat myself up later. Send me copies as soon as you have them in your hands. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to a meeting." He looked down at his communicator after his boss hung up on him. After taking a deep breath (hey! he can kinda breathe through his nose again) to release the energy, he made his way towards Cas' office.

 

He stood in the doorway to watch as the alpha worked on two or three different keyboards, reading the stock report on the news (huge TV screen that was projected on the wall), and talking to Missouri on his headset. Why he thought that multi-tasking was something that made him feel mushy he had no clue. Maybe it was just his mate doing these things. He counted to ten, and at eight Cas looked up and his eyes locked on Dean's. It never took long for Cas to notice Dean was around.

"Missouri, I need to go. Something has broken with Dean's case. If you need more information for the meeting, message me." Dean wondered how many people just hung up without saying goodbye. This was the third instance of it in the last minute or so.

"What is it, Darling Dean?" He walked into the room to sit on the edge of Cas' desk trying not to trip over Rufus, who was not happy that he couldn't get to the Queen, who was in his hood, again.

"Jo's bringing some new evidence. Something might have spooked the perp because they left two clue cards at the scene besides the one for Carlos. The one for this vic and apparently the next victim." He groaned when his fat cat jumped up into his lap to stretch up and sniff at the sleeping kitten.

"Well then," Cas stood up to take Rufus in his arms and made his way to the Auto-Chef in the corner of the room. "I'll be interested in finding out what the distraction was."

Dean stole his mate's coffee as he watched the man giving Rufus some treats. Shaking his head, he tried not to laugh as Cas tried to tempt the cat (with dried sardine chips...ew) to get on the newly purchased cat treadmill. Cas had a bad habit of buying ridiculous products from ads online, and Dean teased him about it all the time. There seemed to be a delivery of some sort every week.

"He's not interested, Alpha." He snickered as Cas lifted Rufus' big butt up on the treadmill only for the cat to sit on his arm so he could paw the treats out of his hand.

"Fuck." Dean slid into the desk chair laughing his ass off at the cuss from Cas, as well as the perturbed expression on his gorgeous face.

Dean was so busy laughing (and _not_ squishing his baby girl) that he didn't notice his alpha walking over. When he heard him clear his throat his eyes flew open to see Cas leaning over him. Squeaking in surprise he cursed his cold, again, for not being able to scent properly. He could breathe better through his nose, but it was still not working like it should. Damn it.

"May I help you?" he questioned as he smirked into his blue eyes. He leaned back as the alpha leaned down, placing his hands on the chair arms successfully boxing Dean in.

"Hmm...maybe later. For now..." Cas broke to kiss him on the forehead while he snuck QueenMae from his hood. He hadn't even noticed she was awake...huh.

"Come along, sweetheart. Let's get you some fishy chips, too." Dean unashamedly watched his alpha's ass as he walked away. It always looked fine in jeans. Fuck.

  


Several hours later, Dean was back at his desk reviewing the preliminary autopsy reports but there were no surprises as the COD, Jill Newman, had been shot. She had just turned seventy-five years old in the past month, and was an unmated omega with no living relatives. The doctor had gone into private practice after working in the Child Protective Services division of Social Services many years ago.

Bingo, there was the connection to his other victims. He would need to find out if she placed them with Zach and Remo, or exactly what her part in this was. Dr. J's report also stated that the omega had given birth, but there was nothing in her files to say what happened to the child. Dean made a note to have Jo dig further into that, and to also have Cas run a search for him. 

He was just getting a cup of honey tea (he was getting nauseous from the antibiotics) when Crowley announced that Jody had just driven through the gate. Spinning back around to program the ADA's coffee, he let out a "whee" as the room spun with him. Grabbing onto the counter at the Auto-Chef, he held on until it stopped, but upon hearing Cas approach while talking to QueenMae, he let go not wanting his alpha to know he was still having trouble.

"Darling, Dean." He heard his mate sigh before he felt his strong arms wrap around his waist. "Come along, let's get you to your desk before Jody comes upstairs. I know you don't want her to see you feeling weak, although you say you're not."

He said "whee" again as Cas picked him up bridal style (which made him dizzy in another way just like the first time he did it) to carry him back to his desk. Dean could admit to himself, Cas, and even Gabe, that he liked it (sometimes) when his mate treated him as a cliche omega, using his alpha strength with him, and treating Dean as if he was something precious, but other times it could piss him off.

Luckily he was mated and married to a smart alpha who knew when it was acceptable to Dean...most of the time. While coming back from rambling thoughts of them sparring in the gym when Cas would sometimes get him riled (which always led to some amazing sex with a chase or two thrown in), Dean found Cas has given him a fresh cup of tea while placing a coffee across his desk for Jody.

One of his alpha's superpowers was that he remembered how _everyone_ took their drinks, the show off. He had just finished kissing Cas senseless and settled back in his chair when the ADA walked into his home office looking as if she had just come from a day off at home, unlike her usually coiffed self.

"You alright, Jody?" Dean watched as Cas held the chair for her and she plopped down, again unlike her poised self.

"Fuck no. I've been sick for days. Only reason I came myself is....well here, read this you guys, while I drown in my coffee. Oh, yum! Cookies." She took a sip of her Americano before shoving a whole cookie (they were Crowley's take on an Oreo) in her mouth, humming in satisfaction. Leaving her to the plate of cookies, Dean began reading the file on Zach and Remo, with Cas reading over his shoulder. 

Each word he read made him sick to his stomach and he could smell Cas having the same reaction.  It was obvious that the system had not only let children slip through the cracks in the beginning of the pairs foster care service (children with bruises, broken bones, and recurring behavioral problems), but eventually the pair found someone to blackmail that would _continue_ to send them kids. Yeah, Jill Newman was a stone cold bitch who sent kids to the pair, but then got out of trouble (immunity his ass!) by testifying against Zach and Remo. In his humble goddamn opinion she should rotting in a cage, but even so, he'd do his damn job and get justice for her murder.

He had stopped reading to have his internal temper tantrum but he was pulled back when Cas clasped him on the back of the neck and whispered at him to look where he was pointing in the file. Dean felt the room spin, but not from cold meds this time. No, this time it was because under "Known Associates," Alistair and John Winchester were listed.

 

Dean woke in the middle of the night surrounded by Cas. His mate was almost literally curled around him with the cats snuggled up together pressed into his stomach. Rufus leaned over QueenMae to kiss Dean on the chin, causing her to wake up and begin meowing for attention. He felt his alpha squeeze him a bit tighter just before he spoke quietly in his ear.

"How are you feeling, Omega?" He watched as the tiny kitten climbed over him to get to the sleepy alpha.

"Tired. My throat feels better, headache seems to be gone too, but I'm so very tired." Dean carefully turned in Cas' arms so he could see his mate.

"Seems Alfie's meds are working but I'd hoped the soother would give you a bit more sleep, Darling Dean." He couldn't help the shiver that went through him when Cas called him that, he never could.

"I'm good, Cas. I managed about five hours of sleep. I'm awake but I don't wanna get up yet. Wanna just lay here a bit with me?" He rubbed his face on the man's shirt; it was worn soft and smelled amazing.

"Anything for you." Kissing the alpha's pec, Dean then rolled over Cas (enjoying the feeling of his mate beneath him in any capacity) so that he ended up on the other side of his mate. 

Dean grabbed the TV remote as he settled back against the pillow he had snatched from Cas. Feeling Queen curl up on his shoulder, he turned on the screen to find an old movie for them to enjoy in the early morning hours before they had to get up and face the world. He wrapped his arm around Cas when he turned to lay his head on Dean's chest and pulled Rufus with him into their snuggle pile. He was flicking through the options of what to watch, knowing that people were actively trying to gather intel on Zach and Remo.

Dean would finally be out on the street today with his crew. Jo and Charlie were meeting him in his home office in approximately three hours, but for now he needed this time with his little family. Just as he decided on the movie "Tombstone" (yes, Cas...again..sheesh) Crowley walked into the room with a tray.

"Thank you, Crowley." he heard his mate say, but he was too busy stuffing one of Crowley's donuts in his mouth to say anything. Mmm...s'mores flavor. Now, time for some cowboys.

 

After finishing his protein shake (Cas had insisted, with the argument that they had eaten and drank nothing but sugar throughout the whole movie), Dean carried his jacket and coffee into his office. He walked around his murder board sipping from his mug while he listened to the latest reports from some of his crew.

Bobby was still working on the partial picture (it's a damn ear!) at Central, Dr. J was finishing a thorough exam on Jill Newman since, in his words "a test came back wonky", and Commissioner Shurley was working on finding out more about Zach and Remo. 

It was a good start to the morning so far, and he was just waiting for Jo and Charlie to show up. Charlie was gonna stick around to work with Cas, trying to weed through the copious amounts of female youths that Zach and Remo had fostered to see if they could identify who fit the "Mrs. Peacock" profile. Along with Mrs. White's card for Jill Newman, there was one of a woman with blue hair, a library, a lead pipe, and of course the peacock piece from the game .

 

 

 

 

Jo and he were going to go downstate to talk to Remo's old nanny. Jo said in her report that the woman seemed to be devastated--still--at hearing about his death a few years before. The woman had stated that she had plenty of pictures of her 'Remmy' and his mate from the time they were kids until just before their deaths. She wouldn't give them to the police until they came to her and told her what was going on. Jo stated that the 104-year-old omega was still pretty spry, and so Dean found himself about to travel about five hours (one way) to go see her. It would give Baby 2.0 a real workout, and he was more than ready for some foot-on-the-ground action.

He was feeling much better (even Nana agreed he was ready to go back to work and she was harder to convince than Cas) and he was so ready to catch the person who was playing with and taking lives as if they had the right. 

 

He was about to get another cup of coffee after getting the text from Charlie saying they'd be arriving in approximately half an hour, when he heard Gabe coming towards his office. He was singing _something_ but Dean couldn't make out the words. Even though he never really understood Gabe's music, he was always supportive as a bestie should be, but it didn't mean he couldn't wear earplugs to his concerts. Cas had bought him some pretty snazzy ones that matched his and Sammy's. Dean programmed a smoothie for the preggo-man and carried it back into his office with his coffee. He watched as Gabe circled the murder board with a frown on his face.

"Here." He thrust the smoothie into his friend's hands before wheeling his board back into its hiding spot in the wall.

"How did you sleep, Dean-A-Wean?" Dean knew the question was coming since _everyone_ _else_ had already asked him after finding out that his father and rapist had been affiliated with Zach and Remo.

"Good, actually." He held up his hand to silence the question forming on Gabe's tongue. "Seriously, I took a major soother last night before bed. I _have_ to work today, Gabe. No excuses, so I manned up and took it before I could even think of having a nightmare." 

They sat quietly for a bit sipping their drinks, Gabe with his feet up on the desk from the visitors seat and Dean taking the time to read and approve a request for another uniform to help one of his detectives on their case. Dean had just acknowledged Crowley's message that 'the girls' were pulling in, when Gabe spoke again.

"So, Petunia or Popeye. Good names, huh?" Dean did Cas' head tilt. Son of a bitch. Of course his bestie was gonna go all weird on pup names. Damn it.

  



	17. Chapter 17

 

 

After several stops to use the bathroom, Dean and Jo had finally made it to the small town where Mrs. Nola Beckett lived. According to Jo, she had lived her whole life in the town of Marketsville and had been a nanny for most of her life. She lost her mate a few years back due to a stroke and, while she lived alone, she was involved with the town's community action program that sent someone to her home everyday. They brought her a hot meal (as well as a boxed cold meal she could eat whenever), they cleaned her home, helped her get to her doctors appointments and even to the beauty parlor when she desired. Dean was impressed with the program, making a mental note to shove some of Cas' wealth their way.

Mrs. Beckett had nannied for many children over her years, and Jo had said it was close to twenty-five children and that she had worked from home. Remo's parents (deceased, both alphas who worked in sales) had traveled throughout the week, so he was only with them from Saturday morning until Sunday supper. The rest of the time he lived at the Becketts' home. 

There had never been any reports of wrongdoing or visits from the cops, hell, the couple never even had a speeding ticket. The Becketts seemed to be homebodies with her raising other people's pups at home and him leaving work (he was a plumber with his own business) and going straight home, do not pass go, etc. Dean made another mental note to have a Monopoly night soon with his family, 'cuz he loved that game.

Shaking himself from the thoughts of how Cas had bribed him outta charging the alpha a hotel fee the last time they played, Dean continued going over what he knew about Nola Beckett in his mind. She had presented as an omega later than most, and was almost twenty years old when she went through her first heat. Her family had assumed she was a beta and had to scramble to put together a dowry to get her an alpha. The idea pissed him off, but Dean realized that's how it worked back in those days. Luckily for Nola, the alpha she was 'sold' to was her Truemate and, according to Jo he put the money into buying them a home. From the reports they received from the Marketsville cops, everyone that knew the couple said that they were deeply in love until the day the alpha died.   


"Hey, Loo. We've got about fifteen more miles before we turn off the freeway. You want one more cup of coffee?" He could hear the hope in her voice telling him she didn't care if  _ he _ wanted another cup, but she did.

"Yeah, go ahead and program me a cup." Dean heard her huff and waited for her to start wheedling or begging.

"Come on, Loo, have a heart." Yep, there was the wheedling, aaaand now to push for the begging. He figured she deserved to sweat it, having made him listen to her lovey dovey conversation with Charlie for  _ miles _ .

"I have a heart. What I don't have, yet, is my coffee." He hid his smirk as she reached behind him to get his coffee from the Auto-Chef in the back of his seat. He could hear his alpha telling him 'to play nice, fucker' so he told her to go ahead and program her one too.

"Thanks!" He smacked her shoulder to stop her happy dance in the seat. "Ouch!"   


"Alright, enough with the happy dancing. Tell me the address again." He sipped his coffee as he eased off the freeway onto the exit ramp.

 

"Let me tell ya' something, Dean Winchester. Remo was not a normal child,  _ I swear _ . I raised that alpha from the time he was six months old 'til his family died when he was thirteen." He handed the spit-fire named Nola her cup of tea she had instructed him to make for her.   


"Can you tell me why you thought that, Mrs. Nola?" He remembered to call her what she insisted on, telling him that Mrs. Beckett had been her horrible mother-in-law.

"I thought that because _he_ _was not normal_ , just as I said. Now, if you want an example, I believe I need a cookie." Sighing at the look on her face (and making note to yell at Jo for her snicker), Dean got up and walked into the kitchen.

"She wants a cookie," he told lady from the community action program who was putting away some groceries in the cupboards. She threw him a box of pecan shortbread cookies before she went back to her business.   


"Here you are, Mrs. Nola." He handed her the box of cookies.

"I didn't ask for a  _ box  _ of cookies, I asked for  _ a cookie _ . Hm,  _ I swear.  _ You always have trouble following directions, young man?" He saw the twinkle in her eye and knew the elder omega was fucking with him.

"My alpha thinks so most times, Mrs. Nola," he snarked as he opened the cookies so he could hand her one. Watching as she threw her head back to laugh, Dean relaxed and listened to her story on Remo.

"The child only had the  _ one name. _ His parents only went by one name themselves, so they only gave him the one, and an odd name it was, too. They were a bit  _ out there _ themselves, obviously, but nothing like Remo." She nibbled on the cookie, gathering her thoughts.

"From the time he started talking, later than any other pup I raised,  _ I swear _ , I truly thought he would present as an omega. I'm not being sexist, I'm just telling you what my years of watching pups showed me." She held her teacup out to Jo, who immediately began the complicated process of fixing just as the older omega wanted it. Dean had failed three times before he had gotten it right, dammit.

"He was soft spoken, polite, and damn near waited on my alpha hand and foot starting when he was about two years old." He held his breath as she began coughing, her whole body shaking with it. The aid came in to pull an oxygen mask from beside Nola and placed it over her nose and mouth. After a few breaths she was able to calm her coughing and settle back in her chair.   


"Maybe we should leave...." The older omega waved off Jo's words with her handkerchief as she took a slow drink of her tea.

"Nonsense, child. I'm alright. It's just breathing gets the best of me sometimes,  _ I  _ swear. Now, let me finish speaking my peace before my story comes on. I can't get through my day without watching "Supernatural" before my nap." Dean held in a snicker (Cas loved that show too, and they had binge watched it over a few weekends) and sat back to listen.

 

On the way back to the city Dean worked on his computer, Jo worked the phone to get a subpoena for the police report on the deaths of Remo's parents (curiously it was sealed) and Baby 2.0 flew them home flawlessly. He decided to give his alpha another spectacular blow job in thanks for his awesome present. He had sent the pictures Mrs. Nola gave them of Remo, as well as the feed from his recorder to his home computer, then he texted his mate. Carefully wording his message, he let the alpha know that they were waiting for subpoenas to be approved (emphasising how much he  _ hated _ waiting, " _ I swear, _ " he thought) and Dean was pretty sure that Cas would pick up on the fact that he wanted him to take the information and run it on the unregistered. Damn if he wanted to wait for the wheels of justice to give him the information he needed. 

He was 100% positive that his perp was related to Remo just from the shape of the profile that they could see from the eye shot. Now he just needed to prove it, which is why Jo was going through the motions with the legal mumbo jumbo and Cas (hopefully) was already working on doing it his way. Dean would never do it totally Cas' way, or even use it on every case, but he was trying to save Mrs. Peacock. They were barely an hour into the way home when his wrist unit indicated an incoming call from Mrs. Nola.

"Did you remember something else, Mrs. Nola?" he asked, as he increased Baby 2.0's speed a bit more, more than he should while vertical.

"No, young man, I haven't. I'm  _ calling _ to  _ tell you _ to come  _ get me _ . Hm,  _ I swear. _ " she sounded pissed  _ at him. _

"Ma'am?"   


"Not ten minutes after you left, my  _ house _ exploded in  _ flames _ . Missy, the aide, is  _ in the hospital _ and will be for a few days. Now,  _ come get me _ and  _ take me home _ with you." She huffed and hung up on him. What the hell?

"Why are we turning around, Loo?" He didn't even glance at Jo as he completed a u-turn on the freeway.

"Apparently, we're taking Mrs. Nola home with me." He knew that he should probably make arrangements for her closer to her town, but he decided he wanted her close. Whoever did this had been watching them and had worked quickly. 

 

Dean stood outside the hospital doors waiting for Jo to come out with Mrs. Nola. He absolutely hated hospitals, from the too-bright lights and smells, to the fast pace, all making him feel like he was jumping out of his skin. Remaining out there after signing the papers he needed to place the older omega in his custody, he was now waiting for Cas to arrive. The alpha insisted on flying his helicopter to meet them since he wanted to see Dean, plus he could get Mrs. Nola out of this town quicker. He was bringing one of his security team members, Bal, the main alpha Cas used if he felt they needed a bodyguard for an event. Upon hearing the helicopter, he looked up to see that it was Cas arriving, and taking a deep breath Dean walked back into the hospital to make his way to the roof access.

He had just arrived at the last doorway when Cas and Bal walked through it. Dean found himself being hugged with his alpha's face pressed into his neck, and he knew he had been worried even after being assured that Dean and Jo were nowhere near the fire. He smiled at Bal who was used to the affection between them. Dean was even used to Bal witnessing these moments.   


"Omega." He could hear (and smell) the relief from Cas.

"I'm good, Alpha. I'm good," he murmured in his ear while rubbing his hands up and down his mate's back. Dean kept it up until the man straightened up and stepped back.

"How is Mrs. Nola?" Cas asked as the three of them began the trek down the stairs.

"Physically she's got some bumps, scrapes, and a few bruises, the worst being a sprained ankle. The doctor wrapped it after giving her something for pain. No concussion or anything broken, which at her age the doctor said was a miracle. Mrs. Nola said she's "too hard headed and she always drank her milk,  _ I swear! _ " Sassy old lady." He snickered when he felt Cas pinch his butt at his imitation.

"Dean, really." Cas huffed from behind him.

"That's what she said, Cas!" He laughed and opened the door to head down the hallway to the room where Jo was waiting with Mrs. Nola. When they walked in Dean heard the elder omega say "oh my, I swear" when she spotted Cas. The alpha had that effect on omegas of any age, it seemed.

"Mrs. Nola, I'm honored." Cas stepped forward to kiss her hand as he handed her a bouquet of flowers. Where had those come from? Sappy frickin' alpha.

"You sure about that, Sir? Even when I'm forcing my way into your home?" Dean liked that she didn't call Cas alpha. She was of the same school he was, and that was only for his mate.

"I'm positive, Ma'am." The giggle she gave when Cas kissed her cheek before straightening up made Dean's face hurt, he smiled so hard. He left Cas smooth talking her to walk over to Jo.

"Everything ready for us to leave?" he asked, stealing her coffee. Fuck, it was  _ not  _ Cas' coffee for damn sure.

"Just waiting on her prescription. The nurse said it should just be another few minutes. So, coffee as soon as we get to the car?" She was being sassy but Dean could also smell the desperate need for caffeine coming from Jo.

"Fuck, yeah," he snorted.

"Young man! Really now, such language,  _ I swear. _ " He looked at Mrs. Nola to see her blushing but glaring at him. Dean figured the blush was for Cas but the glare was all for him.

"Sorry, Mrs. Nola." He really wasn't, but he wanted her to remain calm, and yeah OK, he felt a bit naughty for cussing in front of her. He wouldn't say that shit--crap, stuff!--in front of Nana.

"Thank you, Dean. Now, your handsome alpha tells me that you and I are riding with him in a helicopter." She smiled so big and smelled so happy he really couldn't strangle said alpha in front of her. Oh, but he was tempted.

"If he says so," he growled, giving Cas the evil eye.

"Yes, well, Jo and Bal will bring the car back," he paused when Dean let out an anguished sound, "and the three of us will fly back with Uriel." Dean popped his neck trying to get rid of the tension that developed. He wasn't sure if it was because he was gonna have to fly or the thought of Bal driving Baby 2.0, cause it sure the fuck wasn't gonna be Joanna Beth Harvelle flying home!

 

As the nurses were transporting their patient to the roof via the elevator (with Bal and Jo by her side), Dean jogged up the stairs with his mate by his side. He really wanted to grumble about flying but even he recognized the need to get Mrs. Nola out of town quickly. She would travel better with another omega on board and for some reason she had attached herself to him more so than Jo. Around the third floor out of seven, Cas began telling him about the arrangements being made at home for their newest house guest.   


"Crowley has been in contact with the community action program, by the way, we need to give them money..." Dean interrupted Cas.

"That's what I was thinking!" He high-fived Cas as they continued climbing now on the fourth floor stairway.

"Great minds. Anyhow, Crowley has gotten a list of Mrs. Nola's favorite foods and is right now cooking for her. Nana and Daideo are getting the guest room..." again Dean interrupted the man.

"Which frigging one?" He was beginning to pant. Wow...he needed to hit the gym in the morning, because being sick had weakened him.

"The one between them and Gabriel. Nana said that way, they all could watch over her. Gabriel has gone out to the greenhouse to get her some fresh flowers after making sure that she has some appropriate snacks at her bedside." Dean was getting pissed that Cas was still talking, jogging up the stairs the same as him but nowhere near out of breath as he was. Fucker.

"Snacks?" He thought Crowley would be all over that, too.

"Gabriel is fixated on snacks at the moment, so he apparently  _ insisted _ on taking care of them. Crowley says he yelled at him, but really, who knows?" Dean laughed and was so happy to see the door marked 'Roof Access'.

Walking out onto the roof, he watched as they loaded Mrs. Nola onto the helicopter. Uriel was helping and it looked as if she was enjoying the attention of that alpha, too. He couldn't help that his feet stopped moving when he saw the helicopter, because he really,  _ really _ hated flying and the smaller the thing he had to get into, the worse his fear was. He felt Cas place his hand on his lower back in support.   


"Come along, Darling Dean. We'll be home in less than an hour. When we get her settled after dinner we will take some time in the pool, just the two of us, hmm? A bit of a snuggle in the warmth of the water." He swallowed hard but not in fear this time, but at the thought of how they always ended up doing more than 'snuggling' in the pool whenever Cas suggested it. Fuck, yeah, he was ready for that, so he swallowed again and nodded at Uriel in the co-pilot seat, before he climbed in the back to sit next to Mrs. Nola's stretcher while Cas climbed into the pilot seat. Fuck, he loved how his alpha looked when he put on his aviator sunglasses. He had hoped his scent wasn't giving him away too badly, but one look at Mrs. Nola and he knew it was. Damn hot looking alpha. It was all his fault.

 

First thing Dean had done when he arrived home was to run up to the bedroom to change clothes and then put away his stunner, along with his badge, cuffs, and recorder. He also took the time to use a few of Rowena's Magical Miracle Wipes. When you used them (to wipe your armpits as well your scent glands), they removed the stench of nervous omega that he had been emitting since the helicopter took flight. Dean trusted Cas' piloting skills, more than anyone else's for sure, but he had still been in a small metal death-can up in the air. Crowley rode his ass about the fact that he liked using vertical drive in his cars, but damn it, that was different. He could jump out of his car if he had to during vertical without certain death, since he was only a foot or so above a car's height...big frickin' difference.   


Dean took a moment to pet Rufus and his baby-girl, sitting on the bed where they were curled up together. He felt his heart melt at her cute little yawn and stretch as she stepped all over Rufus to bump him in the chin with her teeny, fuzzy head. Picking her up with her bottom in his palm, he began kissing all over her face making obnoxious kissy noises. When she reached out her paw to smack him in the nose (very gently though), he fell on his back so she could pounce up his chest like she was stalking her kill. Damn cutie-pie. He was about to get back up to go downstairs, he really was, when Cas called from the house system. The alpha's alarm had gone off, and he wanted Dean to go check his search results. He also told Dean that Mrs. Nola was expecting him to bring QueenMae to see her once he was done with his detecting business. He may have been talking about the kitten and Rufus the whole trip home with her. So sue him, Dean loved his cats.

After getting through the security measures to get into the private office, Dean sat at Cas' desk to see what the search had found. As he waited for the computer to recognize his voice and prints, Dean got lost in the memory of the first time Cas had shown him this room. It had been after he had concluded that the alpha was not involved in the murder of an art director, but before they had slept together. Dean had come to the house to have dinner with the alpha (planning on riding that cock for sure) on their first date. Yeah, he felt a bit slutty wearing his panties and knowing he was gonna put out on the first date with his first alpha, but he didn't care. When Cas told him that he had to know everything about him before they went any farther (that first kiss on the stairs was his first experience of knowing what 'weak in the knees' meant), Dean was curious. Seeing this room had almost made him run, but he could read the truth in the alpha's eyes and scent that he was no longer on the wrong side of the law. Cas insisted on telling him what he used to do when he a criminal (all hypothetically of course) because he didn't want his 'future mate' to have any doubts of his sincerity. Cas told him that first date that he was Dean's, no matter if Dean felt the same, Cas would live his life worshipping the omega. Damn sappy alpha. He focused back on the screen. Now it was time to see what Cas' search had dug up. 

 


	18. Chapter 18

 

 

Dean was having trouble breathing, none of the techniques he had learned from Donna were working. He needed Cas, but he couldn't move. It felt as if there were thousands of pounds sitting on his chest, like his lungs were the size of peas and he just couldn't get a breath. Dean told himself to push the intercom button and Cas would come but he couldn't get his arm to move. It seemed as if his hands were clamped to the arms of the chair and there was no letting go. It didn't take long until he felt like he was going to pass out and his vision was getting grey. Feeling his body begin to slide out of the chair, he was surprised when his head flew to the side from a hard slap, then thankfully his lungs began sucking in air.   


"Breathe, Goddammit!" he heard Crowley shout at him before he pushed the intercom to tell Cas to 'come now'.

"Want Cas," was all he could get out while he kept breathing as the room continued to spin.

"He's coming, Dean. Are you alright?" He smelled the soother when the irritating (and yeah, caring) alpha set it on the desk next to his hand.   


Dean didn't answer the man. Instead, he just swallowed the soother in one shot, causing Crowley to whisper, "Apparently not". 

 

Leaning his head back on the chair, he closed his eyes trying to get his body to quit shaking. He kept repeating that this was not his fault and that he had not set this game of murder in motion. Logically Dean knew this; knew he had been a victim but the part of him that was a cop (most of him) believed if he had done his job faster or better, most of these victims would still be alive. What he did not believe was that he was responsible for the evil behind this game of murder. No, that was not on him, and by God, he was gonna finish it and soon. But he'd get on that after he had some comfort from his alpha.

"Omega?" Dean opened his eyes to see his mate kneeling in between his legs and looking at him with worry. He could see him scent the air to try and get a read on Dean's mood. Not ready to talk yet, he just held open his arms and his alpha climbed in his lap so that Dean could lay his face in Cas' neck.

They sat there for awhile just taking comfort from the presence of their mate and the scent of 'home, safety, and love'. Cas muttered nonsense words and phrases in Russian and Irish. Dean didn't understand all of it (alright, most of it. Damn it, he needed to study) but they calmed his soul. Pulling his nose from the mating bite he had left on Cas years ago, Dean lifted his trembling hands to cup his alpha's jaw. He hiccupped an aborted sob at the tears swimming in those ice blue eyes that were the warmest thing he had ever gazed into.

"I'm better, Alpha. You're here, I'm better." Leaning up, he kissed Cas' eyelids, tasting the tears that fell.   


"I guess I should tell you..." he stopped when Cas held up his hand.

"I read the screen as you cried, Omega. I know." Nodding, Dean glanced at the screen before looking back up at his mate. "You will find her and you will stop her."   


"Damn straight. Will you set up a conference call with my team in about ten? I need to let them know what's up before the soother knocks me out. We'll go with an anonymous tip and then work our asses off to find this 'officially', alright?"   


When Cas nodded, Dean squeezed him in a hug once more before motioning the man up off his lap. He was gonna need a cup of coffee to do this.

 

Dean was just walking out of the bedroom after washing his face and cuddling the cats for a moment when he walked into Crowley. He gave him the stink eye when the alpha stood directly in his way.

"Yes?" He wasn't as snarky as normal since the alpha had come to his rescue earlier, but if he were to be  _ actually _ nice to Crowley they'd both feel slimy.

"Mrs. Nola and Nana would like you to visit with the wee one after your conference call, if you would." He snorted when Crowley picked up QueenMae and Rufus began telling him off.

"Yeah, I'll be down in about thirty. How about some banana splits?" One of the side effects of Crowley's soothers was a craving for sweets.

"As you wish." Damn alpha going all "Princess Bride" on him, knowing how much he loved that movie.

"Assbutt!" he yelled down the hall after him, and smiling when he heard a burst of laughter from Crowley. 

 

Dean was pacing and drinking cherry-flavored, electrolyte-enriched water (the soothers tended to dehydrate him, as well) while Cas got the last of his team on the screen for the conference call. He had Gabe take the cats down to Mrs. Nola and Nana since they were continuously tripping him as he paced. He waved away the look of concern on his bestie's face. He'd explain later, but right now he needed to focus so he could be precise in his presentation.

"Everyone is on screen, Lieutenant," he heard Jo snicker. It always tickled her funny bone when Cas called him by his rank.

"Alright, here's what I know from an "anonymous source" on Zach and Remo. I'm also sending a written report because we need these things verified." He couldn't believe he used actual finger quotes. Man, his alpha was really rubbing off on him. (rubbing… *snort* Now is not the time, Dean!) He began pacing again as he continued.

"When the murder/suicide of this pair was investigated, found in their paperwork," he paused for a moment when his throat wanted to close around the heavy words, "...was a bill of sale for a male, omega child between them and  _ Alistair _ , and," (he tried to breathe slower and calm his heart) "the date was the day I shot him in the head. So, um, take from that what you will." He stopped to drain the bottle of water and handed the empty to Cas, who discreetly rubbed his thumb over the back of Dean's hand as he, in turn, handed him a full one.

"Also, there was evidence of a female that was living with them, and from the type of suppressants found in her room, we can extrapolate that she's an alpha. We have nothing to indicate who she is, but she was never found. We need to find  _ everything _ known and unknown about her, so talk to old neighbors again, and send a forensic artist to get an idea of what she looked like." He could see Jo taking notes as he talked, but the others were just listening, most not even blinking they were so locked in on him. Good.

"The officer who responded to the call of shots fired at their home questioned the next door neighbors only, and since they had moved in three days prior, I'm not surprised they knew nothing. Funny enough, this officer reportedly committed suicide a month after the call." Dean saw Commissioner Shurley motion to his aid (who was  _ always _ off camera during a conference call) whispering about grabbing the report that was coming in on the fax.

"One more thing to note before I need to go spend some more time with Mrs. Nola. In the room where it was determined that a female had resided, there were at least fifty board games stacked on shelves and in the closet. Over half of them were the game of Clue." He left any questions to Cas, since they had agreed on that from the beginning. Dean needed to find out more about Remo.

 

As soon as he stepped into the guest room (the pastel-yellow one), he was surrounded with the scent of happy omegas. He felt badly because he knew his scent wasn't as pleasant,  even with the soother kicking his ass. But almost before he could blink, Nana put her arm around his shoulder and walked him towards the bed where Gabe and Mrs. Nola were curled up together with his cats. He tried to assure them that he was alright, but all he got was 'tuts' and 'come on Deanie-Beanie's' so he made his feet follow the direction Nana was leading him. Dean tried to deny that being surrounded by all the love was a bit much since it wasn't from his mate, but he couldn't quite convince himself to pull away from the  sweet, puppy-pile of love. Nana was playing with his hair, Gabe had pulled Dean's head down to lay on his belly, saying that his mini-me wanted in on the lovefest, and Mrs. Nola was humming a song as she petted his hands. Damn it, he didn't wanna cry again but it was getting harder not to.

"I'm alright, guys. Really, I was gonna come ask you more about Remo, Mrs. Nola but it seems as if the soother is really kicking me in the a--um--rear today. Crowley probably doubled it, the sneaky alpha." He really was grateful that he had, but he wasn't about to say so.

"Hush now, child. You're safe here with us, just wait with us 'til that handsome mate of yours comes to get you." He squeezed Mrs. Nola's hand gently in acknowledgement of her concern.

"Madra...", Dean turned to look at Nana when she paused after calling him puppy (which did  _ not _ make him wanna wiggle in the love) to see her eyes bright with tears.

"I'm good, Nana. Well, I'm as good as I can be right now. Here, with you all and Cas on his way? I'm good." He pulled her closer against his back and her head onto his shoulder, and decided he was going to close his eyes for a minute to let himself enjoy the comfort.

  
  


Dean woke sometime later, the room was dark except for the screen which was playing one of the old black and white Godzilla movies that Cas loved. And speaking of Cas, Dean now scented his alpha behind him. He was still resting with his head in Gabe's lap (who was snoring), Nana and Mrs. Nola were on the other side of the  _ loud _ and, eww...drooling omega, which meant Cas was the only one behind him. Slowly turning to look at the sleeping alpha, he smiled at him doing his octopus impression. One arm was around Dean's shoulder and the other was thrown over as many of the omegas in the bed as he could reach, but his legs were intertwined with Dean's just the way his inner omega loved. Wiggling his hand out of Gabe's death grip, he began snickering at the thought of a baby named Banjo or Bear when he realized that his brother-in-law was rubbing his belly and actually whispering those names. Good grief. Finally getting his hand back, he gently pushed Cas' hair off his forehead then gasped in surprise when the alpha's blue eyes popped open to lock with his.

"Omega of my blood." His voice deeper from sleep, Cas pulled Dean closer to him so he could scent him.

"What time izzit?" He continued stroking his fingers through Cas' honestly-earned bed head.

"Late...or early, depending." He closed his eyes when Cas lit up his communicator to check the time. "It's just on 3 a.m. Let's go to our room."   


Dean nodded and they carefully got up from the bed with the cats obediently following them out of the room. He stumbled a bit when he went to start up the stairs, so Cas picked him up, bridal-style, making the cats begin to meow and cause a fuss at not being picked up themselves. Spoiled creatures. Cas snorted a laugh before squatting down so that they could both jump on Dean's stomach before the alpha continued up the stairs. Unbelievable.   


"Show off," he muttered, trying to ignore how hot he thought his mate's caveman actions were, but the smirk on Cas' face told him that his scent gave him away. "Shuddup," he said, ignoring the rumble from his alpha's chest and just continued petting the cats.

When they got into their bedroom, Cas let him down so he was standing next to the bed and Dean tumbled the cats onto the soft comforter that was spread out over their usual one. Crowley had been here then, which kind of made him uncomfortable, but he liked the thoughts of droids cleaning their room even less. Shuddering, Dean walked into the bathroom to get ready to crawl into bed for some more sleep, but when he walked past Cas brushing his teeth, he couldn't resist pinching his firm, round posterior. Dean winked at him in the mirror as he continued around the corner to relieve his bladder. He was bummed that Cas had left the bathroom when he walked back into the main part of it, but he smiled when he noticed that the man had set out his favorite overnight mask from Rowena. It was amazing for when he was stressed and Cas, well, he was just thoughtful and awesome.   


After brushing his teeth, he began his normal nighttime routine. When Rowena first began trying to teach him about skincare (he had always assumed water and soap was fine, thank you very much), he was still dealing with a few break out pimples along with redness. And, when he had a nightmare or was severely stressed, the dark circles under his eyes were darker than the chocolate he was always hiding in his office. He began with the foaming wash that left his skin clean and soft. Next was the toner that removed even more dirt from his pores. Before his skin "education," Dean had never thought about all the dirt from the city that he carried in his skin....ew. All of the products Rowena made for him were specialized to his skin and the scent was a combo of his and Cas' together. As he rubbed in the eye serum, he told himself (no one else!) that Rowena wasn't all that bad, but he'd deny it under torture. Lastly, he slathered on the night mask that was thinner than a serum with a slight,  _ slight _ pink tinge to it.   


Dean left his clothes in the bathroom to climb in bed naked, and cuddled up to Cas who was almost back to sleep. Cas wrapped his arms around him and the cats got into their own positions before Cas clapped his hands to turn off the lights. Damn him and his late-night, TV-infomercial, shopping habits. Dean giggled to himself as he dropped off to sleep, safe in the knowledge that Cas had him and always would.

 

He woke in the morning to his alpha wafting the steam of a cup of coffee near his face, and fuck, it smelled good. Dean wasn't sure if he meant the coffee or his alpha but whatever, because he was lucky to have both. He grabbed his coffee with one hand and Cas' tie with the other to pull him down for a coffee-flavored kiss, and all without opening his eyes.   


"Thanks, Cas." He popped one eye to look at his mate and smiled at the dopey look on his face. Cas usually looked that way after Dean kissed him in the morning, and it was good for his ego.

"Cas..." he remembered last night and knew that he had to get up to get busy. "I have to find her before she kills Mrs. Peacock, whoever the fuck that is!" He sipped his coffee letting Cas pet his head for a minute or so before he got up.

"I will do everything I can to find them both for you today, Darling Dean. I know that you are thinking of using yourself as bait, against the orders of Chuck, but hear this Dean. If she so much as lets her breath touch your skin, I will disembowel her with my teeth, and enjoy every bite." Cas kissed him on the forehead then walked towards the Auto-Chef with Rufus following him. Dean rescued QueenMae, who was in the process of falling off the bed but was hung up by a paw. Dean leaned forward to watch Cas walk away, knowing how serious the alpha was. Well alrighty then. Plan B: try not to let anyone know he was gonna be the bait.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello *waves*  
> Sorry I've been missing for a while but between Drs adjusting my meds and the Hubbs falling down concrete steps pretty much on his face, life's been crazy. I'm doing much better and he will be as soon as they can get his jaw wired shut, hopefully.  
> Until things settle down a bit more I will be posting several times a month for this story but I'm taking away the Friday posting. If I can't make it I feel so guilty which kicks in my anxiety. So, again I will be posting several times a month but on random days.  
> Thank you so much for all the love and concern you have thrown my way, you don't know how much it means.   
> <3<3Roo

 

 

 

Dean took his time standing under the scalding water in the shower, because even with the soother and all the cuddling he did last night his muscles were still tight. He turned the dial on the shower head so that the massager beat hard on his shoulders. After a few minutes he shifted to let the water beat against his throat. Then he smelled his alpha nearby. "Hiya, Cas," he whispered, knowing his mate would be able to hear him even over the roaring of the water, and they really,  _ really  _ had great water pressure.

"Omega." Dean shivered hearing the growl behind the word. He kept his eyes closed, letting his other senses telling him that the alpha was standing just outside the shower, stripping as his eyes roamed over Dean's body. He could feel the weight of the gaze, and the heat coming from Cas felt hotter than the water flowing over his body.

"Mmmm...." He let out a moan while his thumbs grazed his nipples, arching his back in pleasure and letting his smirk show his alpha that he was teasing him.

"Dean...fuck, you're so beautiful." Cas' voice went an octave deeper and the scent of his slick to permeated the hot, dense air in the shower.

Keeping one hand on his pec, Dean let his other slowly make its way down his body until his hand wrapped around his hard cock. Then he opened his eyes to lock on Cas'. "Hurry up, Alpha." He let the purr come out in his voice; his inner omega calling to his alpha.

 

Dean tried very hard not to laugh as Cas hopped around on one foot while trying to remove his last sock. It really was comical watching the normally composed man fighting and cursing at a sock. What was not comical (but fucking  _ hot as hell _ ) was watching Cas' long, thick, hard cock swinging between his legs. Fuck. Dean needed his mate and  _ now _ . He continued to lightly stroke himself-not to get off, but just to torment Cas, whose eyes were near black with desire.   


Cas finally got the sock off his foot and threw it across the bathroom in triumph before shaking his butt at Dean in his "happy dance". Dean laughed so hard that he ended up with water up his nose when he threw his head back in amusement. Coughing,  he looked back at his silly mate who was shaking, shimmying, and stalking his way towards him. As he snapped his fingers to whatever song was running around in that brilliant mind, Cas started shaking his shoulders as he winked at Dean. 

In the blink of an eye (or one last giggle), Cas was standing in front of Dean sharing the water, pressing their chests together, but intentionally  _ not _ letting their lower bodies touch. And, damn it to hell, that's what Dean craved . He got both hands on his mate: one wrapping around his neck to pull him into a kiss, and the other on his bicep where his favorite tattoo was. Dean loved the tatt, and had, in fact, spent many hours tracing it with his eyes, fingers and tongue. His alpha had first showed it to him before they had officially mated, but after Cas had made his intentions clear.   


 

They had been having a picnic under the stars and sitting on the hill behind the house. Cas had shown him all the constellations that were visible in the sky. The nerdy alpha had even run back into the house to bring out his smaller telescope so Dean could get a closer look. Dean had already known that Cas was his alpha (even though he was still trying to deny it), but that was the night that he realized he had finally fallen in love with the gorgeous, blue-eyed angel. For a split second, Dean had thought of running, but then the alpha pulled back from looking through the telescope to give his big, gummy smile. He was done for and he knew it, so he smiled back at Cas before peppering his face in smacky kisses, which caused the alpha to break out in giggles.   


Later, while they were sitting on the air mattress that was covered in soft, furry (fake, thank you very much!) blankets and pillows, Cas told him he had done something that he needed to show him. Dean remembered that he had heard himself swallow because the alpha had just recently left his life of crime, so Dean was a bit leery. But he looked Cas in the eyes and told him he'd see anything the alpha needed him to see. Dammit, he was so gone on his mate.

Dean admitted to himself that he had been confused (but very turned on) when Cas pulled his t-shirt off to bare his chest in the moonlight. When he had turned to show him his left bicep, his mouth dropped open in shock (then he heard Cas sniff, letting him know that he could smell  _ exactly _ how turned on Dean was). His soon-to-be mate had gotten a tattoo and it was breathtaking. He had revealed an intricate collection of flowers, bees, ladybugs, vines and angel wings (those were black with an opalescent sheen to them), along with the moon and stars, overlaid with an explosion of colors. And all of this beauty surrounded six simple words written in a beautiful script: "Omega of my blood: Dean Winchester"

 

"Omega?" the sound of his mate's voice laced with concern brought Dean back from his memories to the present, where his naked alpha was standing in front of him.

"I'm good, Cas. Just remembering the reveal of this." He stroked his fingertips gently over his name inked on his mate's skin.

"Ah, I see. I have fond memories of that night, as well." Dean could feel his face start to heat up in a blush. Even years later (and many more tears), he still got embarrassed about the first time he cried when they made love that night under the stars. It was also the night he told Cas he loved him.

"Hmm...you wanna know my favorite part of that night?" He forced a teasing lilt to his voice, trying to shake off the tears before they could fall.

"Of course, моя любовь. I always want to know what you like." Dean watched the amusement on Cas' face turned to desire again when he began nipping on the alpha's bottom lip. There weren't many days that that lip wasn't swollen from Dean kissing and biting it.

"Well,  _ my love _ (he didn't say it right, but Cas' eyes lit up when Dean tried to return the endearment in Russian), my favorite part was when you ate my ass for the first time." Dean was instantly spun around, and Cas slapped Dean's hands on the tile wall of the shower.

"Mmmm...yes. I remember well the first time I had the taste of your slick straight from the source." His inner omega was purring while trying to come forward to present for his alpha as his mate growled the words in Dean's ear. Fucker. He knew that made Dean slick like he was in heat when he talked straight into his ear.

He pushed his ass back to press against Cas' groin. He desperately wanted to feel that hard cock rubbing against him, but the alpha prevented it by grabbing one hip to hold him still and Dean let out a pitiful whine. He would deny to his dying breath how often he whimpered, purred, and even begged, his mate to pleasure him, but sometimes his alpha drove him crazy.   


Dean felt the barest touch of his mate's hands as he dragged them down his arms, squeezed his shoulders before tracing his spine with just two of his fingers. The light touch made Dean shiver, and he melted a bit with Cas' care, knowing that his trust in his mate was well placed. When he needed gentle, teasing, healing touch, Cas was ready. When Dean needed a firm controlled hand, his alpha was there with his demands, still gentle and  _ never _ disrespectful or demeaning. When Dean needed to get his aggressions out, Cas was there to spar with him then fuck like the savages their inner omega and alpha sometimes were. Every touch of his mate did magical things to Dean, and he recognized that he was one,  _ very _ lucky omega. 

 

Right now, he knew he was especially lucky when he felt Cas kneel behind him. He began squeezing his ass cheeks, then kneading them and pulling them apart to look at his hole.

"Dean, may I?" Oh, Cas was being careful with him, what a sappy frickin' alpha.

"Please." Dean not only begged in that one word, he pushed his shoulders forward to lean on the tile wall and angled his ass up and back towards his mate.

It was a good thing Cas was holding him by the hips, his thumbs keeping Dean's ass cheeks spread apart, because with the first, long swipe of the alpha's tongue, Dean got weak in the knees. Cas' clever tongue repeatedly teased along his crack from the top all the way to his balls, ignoring his hole, damn fucking tease! He wiggled his ass to get Cas' attention and was rewarded with a nip of teeth on the inside of his thigh. Dean couldn't help the groan that escaped when the blue-eyed devil between his legs turned the nip into a deep hickey. Fuck...his mate was in the mood to mark him. Dean loved it when Cas gave into these urges, even if he might have to wear more clothes around the house for a while. No need for Nana and Daideo to see how busy they'd been.   


"Cas! Please, ya' fucking tease! If you're gonna mark me, do it  _ after _ you get your tongue inside me!" His voice went higher and higher as he spoke due to the number of teeth gnawing on his ass cheek.

"That what you wanted, Omega?" Cas had pulled back to admire the damn near heart shaped hickey he left on Dean. How did he make shapes? Dean never could figure it out, dang it.

"Do another one,  _ Alpha."  _ He knew he was gonna enjoy the results of emphasizing his husband's subgender...he wasn't stupid ya' know.

"As you wish, Omega of my Blood." His snort of laughter turned to a whine as Cas began biting and sucking a new mark in the crease of his left butt cheek. Fuck!

Dean didn't know (and didn't care to examine) why Cas marking him turned him on so much, but he was leaking slick at a fast rate. His body was calling to its mate through scent, trying to entice the alpha to breed with him. Dean  _ really  _ wanted Cas to fuck him hard and to knot him up against the marble wall, but he knew they didn't really have time for that. Biting his bottom lip in frustration, Dean began working his hips in tight, figure-eight motions, and going from pushing his ass back into his mate's face to pulling away just enough that the alpha would bite a bit harder to keep working on the newest hickey.

"Jesus, Cas! That's gonna be there for weeks!" Knowing that his scent was just as much "happy" omega as it was "fucking horny" omega made him blush, because, dammit, feelings still did that to him.

"Hmm...yes it will." His fingers scrambled against the shower wall trying to find a hold when Cas finally licked over his rim.

Dean could hear, as well as feel, his slick beginning to cover Cas' face. The alpha had pulled his cheeks farther apart so he could shove more of his face between them. He knew that Dean loved to feel a bit of his 5 o'clock shadow on him,  _ everywhere _ . The alpha was always gentle enough to not give him razor burn  _ there _ but most every other piece of coverable skin was up for grabs. Dean did the same to his mate, since the alpha loved being marked as much as Dean did....the kinky fucker. Match made in heaven.

"Come on, Cas. Give us what we need." He was ready to beg, plead, and bitch to get them both off before someone came looking for them to face their responsibilities. He needed this with his mate this morning, so he just had to push him...a bit.

"I'll finish myself off if you don't get your tongue in my ass and your fist wrapped around my cock...now!" He put as much of a growl in his voice as he could, watching over his shoulder to see how Cas would respond.

He was very happy to watch the man's eyes darken even more, and to feel him push his long, hot tongue deeper into him. Dean bucked back towards his mouth when he felt the nimble fingers (safe burglar in Cas' past...hallelujah for Dean!) begin stroking along his shaft. He writhed, shimmied, and shook on his mate's talented fucking tongue. It wasn't quite long enough to lap over his prostate but the tip could just tease the edge of it when Cas put his mind to it...he was one fucking lucky omega as he kept up the sweet torture for a few minutes, then suddenly spun Dean around to swallow around his cock and slid a finger inside his slightly stretched rim.

"Son of a bitch! Oh, fuck me, Alpha. Yes, yes, yes, yes!" Dean held his eyes open by sheer will to watch his cock stretch his mate's plump, blush-colored lips. When the alpha looked up through his eyelashes to nod at the omega, Dean knew what the man wanted.

"Yeah? You want me to?" He threaded his fingers through Cas' hair as he used his other hand to cup his alpha's jaw, using his thumb to feel the head of his cock through his cheek. The only response he got was a muted groan along with the finger in his ass rubbing his prostate.   


"Fuck, yeah. Feels so good, Alpha. So fucking good. Your mouth is so hot around me, feeling your tongue tease me as you move me in and outta there." He let his head thunk against the wall since he was no longer able to keep his eyes on his husband.   


"Need a bit more, my love." When he felt Cas squeeze his hip in encouragement Dean began rocking his cock in and out of the alpha's mouth. He began his movements with gentle pushes, giving his mate time to get used to it again. This was something that (from what Benny had told him) most alphas didn't do. They didn't like to suck cock, let alone deep throat. Dean thanked the gods he wasn't sure he believed in that Cas was a more progressive alpha, since he even liked it when Dean fucked  _ him _ every now and then. He must have been getting lost in his head when Cas swallowed  _ hard _ around his cock head to bring him back to the present.   


"I'm here, Cas.  _ Sweet Goddess _ , Alpha, I love you." Upon hearing the surprised squeak from Cas, Dean smirked and continued. "Oh, yeah, baby. I know you love my filthy mouth, but you love the sweet talk. Hearing me open up and tell you how much I love you, how safe you make me feel, and how grateful I am to be yours."

 

Over the sound of the shower Dean heard the distinctive sound of Cas stroking his own, thick cock, so he did what he had to, and opened his eyes to watch. The head popping in and out of his foreskin through the grip of his hand was a beautiful thing. Dean couldn't help but thrust his hips more urgently, loving the thrill of feeling  _ his _ cock head pop in and out of his mate's throat. Fuck, it felt amazing: hot, wet, and every one of Dean's fantasies come true. Tasting blood, Dean released his bottom lip from his teeth. Damn...Cas made him lose his mind! The alpha's normally messy hair was completely  _ wrecked  _ from being on his knees in front of Dean, damp in the humidity of the shower but not yet wet enough to tame it. Cas' blue eyes were closed in pleasure and his lips stretched wide and slick with spit. He managed to breathe in through his nose while little moans and groans came from his throat, sending Dean closer and closer to the edge.

"Cas....baby...I'm there. I'm gonna come." He felt Cas suck him harder and knew he was willing to swallow everything he could give him. He pushed his hips back making sure that his mate's finger was pressed on top of his prostate with just the head of his cock left on Cas' tongue as he came. Cas kept swallowing until Dean was too sensitive and pulled out. He immediately slid down the wall to sit in front of his mate. Dean patted his lower belly (one of Cas' favorite places on his body) to let his husband know that that's where he wanted him to mark him when he came.

Dean held his hand out to let Cas grasp it only to be pulled forward so Cas could kiss him as he spilled over Dean's pudgy belly. Tasting himself on his mate's tongue caused his cock to twitch and he swore to himself that  _ tonight _ he'd make sure that they had hours (many hours, dammit) to worship each other.   


Spending a few moments enjoying the warmth of the water (thank goddess for voice-activated shower heads), soft kisses and calming touches, he finally pulled back to look into Cas' eyes. Catching movement in the glass behind Cas' back, Dean spotted something that caused him to giggle. Him. Giggling like an idgit...in the shower...naked as a babe.

"Dean?" He could tell his husband was a bit concerned for his sanity. He nodded for Cas to look behind him and then joined the alpha in giggling some more. At the shower wall were their two cats....and Rufus had his paw covering QueenMae's eyes as she bit his tail. What a morning, and it was just getting started.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙

 

 

Dean was fastening his pants when he heard Cas let Gabe into their nest. He knew the whole house was "theirs," but the master suite was the place he considered their _nest_. This was the only space that Dean had felt the need to have some say in how it looked and felt. 

Cas had done an amazing job with their home, especially the master suite. Dean had spoken to the interior decorator that had worked with Cas on the house and was secretly elated that she hadn't helped much with their nest. Apparently, the alpha had just let her help him pick the wall color, but the rest was all Cas. 

One of the first things he had done (after weeks of inner conversations with himself about spending his mate's money), was replace the lighting. The alpha had put in bright lights (the harsh type used in offices) since he had mostly worked in bed before going to sleep. Dean's old apartment had been the same but only because they were too cheap to spring for good lighting, so soft, soothing lights were a must have in their nest.

The second thing he had bought (he had actually enjoyed shopping _that one time_ ) was new bedding. He loved the bed Cas had had made. It was huge, with a soft mattress of memory foam but the bedding he had was horrible. It was a puke yellow that had stripes of black and silver...eww. Dean never knew that such expensive _crap_ existed, because he figured if it had cost that much money, it had to be quality. But not only was it fugly, it was the scratchier than the cheap linens he could afford before he met his mate.

Together they had picked out sheets, duvets, throw blankets (Dean did love to burrow), and so many soft, pretty pillows, using grey, blue and green, from pastel to their deep shades. Yeah, he let his inner omega have free reign over their nest, and he was thrilled that Cas was on board for all of it. Cas had snuck in one surprise on him when they had the _big reveal_ once the decorating team had left: he had carved their names into the headboard. It had definitely been a swoon-worthy moment for Dean. 

 

He was getting distracted with all the memories, and he needed to get out there to have his coffee with Cas, and apparently Gabe. He carried his shirt and jacket out on the hangers to find Cas laughing so hard Dean wasn't sure if he was even breathing.

"What did you say to him?" He smacked his bestie on the back of the head as he moved around him to sit next to his mate.

"I told him the names Sammich and I talked about this morning." Dean sipped his coffee as he watched Cas lean over onto his side, still laughing. 

"Hmm...what are they today?" He chomped on a slice of bacon, laughing a bit himself as the cats were walking all over his mate--which was _not_ helping the alpha get himself under control.

"Well after talking to my Meat Man this morning.." (Dean shuddered 'cuz he did _not_ want to hear those words associated with his brother) "we are thinking about Hawthorne and Hazel." 

Dean sipped his coffee to give himself a moment to contain his laughter, although these names weren't as bad as some of the others Gabe had been trying out. He was saved from making 'nice words' about the names (damn Cas and his insistance that he shouldn't make fun of them) when Cas began asking Gabe about his new song. As he ate his breakfast he began thinking of ways he could thank his alpha for distracting his bestie, but just as he was getting to the part where he was thinking about Cas eating him out he noticed that he could smell his mate's arousal while Gabe was fanning his nose and laughing.

"Sorry," he muttered before shoving the last of his bacon, cheese and egg bagel in his mouth. 

"Alright Deanie-baby, take it down a notch." Gabe said through his giggles. "My Moonpie said to tell you 'hello' and that he'd be video calling tonight to talk to all of us." 

"What's up?" He picked up QueenMae before she could climb up his pants leg from where she had fallen off the loveseat. She was apparently still working on her coordination. 

"Nothing as far as I know. Probably wants to check and make sure that I'm not feeding Piper and Pickle (oh sweet merciful Goddess, No!) only sugar." Which was exactly what he was eating now after having gotten one of Crowley's cinnamon buns from the Auto-Chef.

Gabe bounced over to hug him and Cas (nearly squishing QueenMae) before bouncing out of the room, cinnamon bun clutched in his hands. Dean just shook his head at how much of a diva his bestie was, until he felt Cas lean over to kiss all over their babygirl's head. He wasn't surprised to see his alpha's hair was a mess since it _always_ was, no matter how Cas tried to fix it. It was getting pretty long; he needed to go to Rowena soon. Cas looked up when he felt the shudder that went through his body at the thought of the redheaded, witchy omega.

"What was that about, Omega?" Dean shrugged his shoulders and suggested that he needed a haircut. 

"Hmm..." Cas ran his fingers through his hair. "I do. I'll see if Rowena can see me today at lunch."

"She's told you she'll see you whenever you want. She's not dumb." When Cas squinted at him with _the head tilt_ , Dean explained that Rowena wasn't gonna piss him off since he spent so much money on her 'crap' for Dean.

"Crap that we both love, and you are forgetting the fact that she is our friend?" He couldn't really dispute that (and when the _fuck_ had that happened?), so he just stuck out his tongue before setting the baby down so he could continue to get dressed. He had to go check on Mrs. Nola before he left for the office.

 

Walking down the stairs, he felt like he was leading a conga line as the cats were behind him with Cas bringing up the rear. Knowing his mate was looking at _his_ rear, Dean put a bit of extra sway into his hips. Hearing a soft groan he knew he had succeeded in his mission. Damn, he loved to play with his alpha. He made a mental note to talk to Crowley about maybe having a dinner for two in the greenhouse tonight. Their lives were a bit chaotic these days and if at all possible he wanted a night alone with his mate, case willing.

Stepping into Mrs. Nola's room he found Nana sitting with her, sharing some tea and scones. Yum. Dean walked over to snitch half of Nana's scone (he loved orange marmalade), before he said good morning to the elder omegas and sat at the small table with them. 

"Morlin'ses!" Dean would never get used to how chipper Nana was in the mornings.

Swallowing his last bite (damn, he was hungry since he had gotten over being sick), he pointed to the recorder on his jacket lapel as he drank some juice to wash the scone down.

"I need to talk to Mrs. Nola some about Remo." 

"Do you need me to leave, my madra?" Dean shook his head, but raised his eyebrows in question to Mrs. Nola. 

She rolled her eyes. " _I swear,_ I don't care if she stays, Dean Winchester." He waved off her attitude, but only because he wasn't within smacking distance, so he was surprised when Nana smacked him upside the head.

"Behave, child." Damn it, he was a grown ass man but yeah...he was justifiably terrified of little old ladies.

"Yes, Ma'am." He poured everyone a refill of tea. "Just talk, Mrs. Nola. Say whatever comes to mind." Turning on his recorder, he sat back and crossed his legs to get comfortable.

The elder omega began with the fact that Remo absolutely hated being an alpha. She talked about how not only did he _act_ like an omega, but that he talked of eventually finding someone who could 'make him' into an omega.

"What do you think he meant, Mrs. Nola?" He had an idea, but back then Remo wouldn't have had the money for a doctor to help him transition.

"Well now, at the time I thought it was just part of his raging personality. That boy raged all the time against God, science, biology, and his parents for him being born an alpha." The tiny (but intimidating) omega paused to gather her thoughts and eat some of her scone.

"Remo talked to me some, but mostly what I know is from observation. _I swear_ , that boy would spend all his time on our computer and after he had gone to bed or home for the weekend...well. I certainly couldn't help that he never cleared his browser history." They all laughed for a moment at the mischief in her voice.

"No, Mrs. Nola, you can't help that at all. So, tell me, what _was_ in his history?" Waving his tea cup at her to continue, he gulped the cooling tea down. What he really wanted was more coffee.

"Remo searched desperately for a doctor that had a reputation for helping youths transition. Desperately, I say." she pushed her teacup towards him and he knew what to do.

"Once he had learned he couldn't have a child of his own, he pleaded with his parents to give him the money to transition. They definitely had the money, more than they could ever spend, and not from working, mind you, but from inheritances, the both of them." He made a note to find out exactly what Remo had inherited after their deaths.

"I remember that Monday, after he had first talked to them. He came dragging into my kitchen smelling like burnt cloves. Now, his normal scent was sweeter than a normal alpha, more like sweet cider, but when he was mad? _I swear!_ He stunk worse than any rotting animal I've ever smelled growing up on a farm!" He watched her shiver, lost in memories.

"Here, Mrs. Nola, let me put a splash in that tea." Dean was speechless as Nana poured a large shot of brandy she had retrieved from the Auto-Chef into their cups, ignoring his.

"What did he smell like when he was mad?" He encouraged her to continue after she finished her "tea" in one deep swallow.

"The sweet cider barely registers when he's angry. It's more like burnt cloves with a sourness that seems to come out like curdled milk." All three of them cringed, thinking about how bad that smell would stick in their sensitive, omega noses.

"Alright, ma'am, did he tell you what had happened?" Dean picked up his empty teacup, again, before realizing he didn't even want any more. It was a nervous habit that snuck out when he had a 'feeling' that something was going to happen soon. He'd have to really pay attention to the information and the rest of his day to see what the feeling was trying to convey. Cas (and a few others) told him that it was much more than an intuition or feeling. They liked to try and convince him that he was a bit of a _seer_ and didn't that just make his stomach lurch. Over the years as he had read some things about his mom that pointed to her being from a long line of seers but he didn't believe he had the gift/curse. 

Yeah, okay, sometimes he just _knew_ things about a perp that weren't obvious or documented about them, but he always said that it was just because he had been a victim, a killer, and involved in the justice system. Those unique circumstances gave him an edge that he would willingly use no matter that his alpha believed he had the gift. Dean just couldn't ever admit aloud (to anyone) that he thought it could be possible. He had witnessed the testing and the scrutiny that seers went through. They were held to tighter standards than sex workers, and that was tough enough.

 

After listening to a few more stories about Remo, Dean ordered up more scones, exchanged a round of hugs and kisses, and bid the ladies a good morning before he made his way to the kitchen. He needed to make sure that Crowley would watch over the two omegas who were currently singing some song about it being "five o'clock somewhere." Stepping into the empty room, he stopped chuckling to himself to start searching for the irritating alpha. As he walked past the large island he snitched another bagel sandwich and headed towards the pantry, where he could hear Crowley speaking softly. Dean figured he was talking to Daideo, but as he turned the corner he saw that he was going over inventory with one of the droids (this one looked like an old movie star who had been famous for his Scottish accent and playing _007)_. He had admitted not long ago to his alpha that the actor's accent was 'hot' (but not as hot as his alpha's accent) so he really wasn't surprised to see the new droid. Cas could be a funny, funny man sometimes. 

"I thought I fed you already this morning? Also, didn't you eat with Nana and Mrs. Nola too?" Dean took another large bite of his bagel with extra bacon just so he could answer him with a mouth full of food.

"So what, asshole. I'm hungry, I'm still making up for being sick." Before the alpha could insult him again, he began walking away only to yell over his shoulder that he would have to watch the drunk omegas.

As Dean gave the cats their good-bye scratches (the kitty part of the conga line had stayed with him), he heard Crowley muttering to himself about how "omegas were gonna be the death of him." Breaking out in a laugh, he walked out the front door and found Baby 2.0 waiting with the engine running....son of a bitch. Crowley, snarky-assed alpha that pissed him off to no end, was also the one who made life a bit easier. Not that he'd ever, _ever_ tell him that.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *waves*  
> Hello,  
> I'm so very sorry that you've had to wait to long for an update, I hope you're still waiting.  
> Between dealing with my Hubbs finally getting his jaw wired shut (he broke it in September and his surgery kept being postponed by the VA) and then I've been fighting a severe infection on top of my normal health issues... it's been a lot.  
> This is short but it got me back in the swing of writing. I have missed this story but more importantly, I've missed you guys.  
> 💙💚Roo

 

Dean was sitting at the conference table trying desperately to will away his headache. His thoughts were swirling around, bouncing against the facts of the case and nothing was sticking together, which was causing his brain to throb (it was that or the techno-crap music that Charlie was listening to as she hunched over several computers). Shaking his head, he got up to program another cup of coffee (hell, yeah, he had put his own coffee in this Auto-Chef) then walked up to the murder board and began sipping the hot, dark brew. He looked at the faces of each and every victim, again silently promising them justice. 

Dean could remember being in the hospital after he had shot Alistair, curled up under a mound of blankets (he had been so cold and the nurses had been so nice) while he stared at the cop that sat in the room with him. It was the same officer that had found him, Officer J.A.Corday, a wonderful, male omega that never once tried to pry Dean's hand from his. Dean could remember the tests that the hospital put him through (Fuck, he still  _ hated _ hospitals) and the only reason he didn't lose his mind was that the staff allowed him to hold onto Officer Corday's hand. 

The man stayed with him while the social workers took him to the center. Having snuck home while Dean was asleep, he had even brought him a few books, a few changes of clothes, and,  of all things, a stuffed angel. He snorted, thinking that he went and married an angel but still kept that little stuffy in their fire-proof safe.

"You alright, Loo?" Jo looked up from her computer at hearing him snort.

"Yeah, lost in thought. You get anything new from the officer at Remo's old storage unit?" he asked, as he again began walking around the murder board hoping that something would jump out at him.

"They're packing everything up and bringing it in, Loo. Should have it here in a few hours thanks to Cas' loan of the shuttle." Dean shuddered at the thought of the shuttle. He could admit that they were handy things, but fuck if he could say that he ever  _ wanted _ to get on one. 

The cops had flown out that morning after Mrs. Nola had called him, just after he had gotten to the office excited when she had remembered that Remo had kept the storage unit his parents had rented. When he found that the unit was  _ still _ being rented in Remo's name, he had sent a team out, after willingly promising Cas some sexy favors for the use of his shuttle (after the stubborn alpha had made him say that the shuttle belonged to them, sneaky fucker). Before he and Cas had really learned to compromise regarding their work and personal time, Dean would have driven the eight hours to the storage unit and spent Goddess knows  _ how _ many hours going through the belongings inside before driving back. Now, he was able to delegate without losing too much of his sanity. And yeah, he could have gotten on the shuttle, but he trusted the detective he sent with the team and honestly, he wanted to stay and be close to home. 

"Bradbury!" He walked over and poked her in the shoulder to get her attention when he noticed she was using her earbuds.

"Ack! Holy Fuck, you scared me, Loo." She was patting herself over her heart.

"You'll live. What's the latest?" He admitted to himself that he was kinda proud of how badly he scared her. He took his thrills where he got 'em.

 

A few hours later, after many cups of coffee and sharing the last of his real chocolate with Jo and Charlie, Dean was ready to cry or, at least, stun someone in frustration. They were completely deadlocked at the moment. The shuttle was  _ just now _ being loaded after Jody had to fly out with all the legal crap proving that they had the right to take it. Dean swore he was gonna go there soon and remove the clerk's balls at the storage facility who decided to be a pain in his ass. 

On top of the headache, he was also dealing with Crowley who called him fussing about Nana and Mrs. Nola "invading his kitchen." Why the cranky alpha was calling to bitch at him was only apparent when Missouri called him to say that Cas was off planet dealing with some sleazy tabloid that was going to print some pictures of them from their last vacation. Dean took another blocker to help his headache and silently hoped that his mate kicked some ass before he just bought the stupid publication. He knew that if he ever saw that cook again he was gonna shove his boot so far up his ass it would never come out. It was  _ terrifying _ knowing that there were naked pictures of him out there. 

"Excuse me, Lieutenant Winchester?" Dean looked up to glare at the uniformed cop who knocked at the door interrupting his train of thought.

"Yeah?" He took a sip of his now-cold coffee, yuck.

"Well, Sir....uh." The uncomfortable-looking uniform bit his lip and looked down the hallway and before Dean could ask him what the fuck was going on, he heard it. Or, rather, he heard them. He actually did it. Crowley followed through on his threat to bring the tipsy, old women to Central to see him. Son of a  _ bitch _ .

 

After spending an hour having lunch with Nana, Mrs. Nola, Jo, and Charlie, Dean was shocked to admit (only to himself, of course) that he felt better and was ready to dive into the mountain of boxes that the team had brought back on the shuttle. It took him about an hour to count and catalog the diaries Remo had in this storage while the others (Nana and Mrs. Nola stuck around to supervise) unpacked all of the other boxes. 

"He was always writing,  _ I swear _ . I can't  _ believe _ I forgot about that." Dean could hear the frustration in Mrs. Nola's voice, but before he could reassure her, Nana spoke up.

"Hush now, deirfiúr, it's alright to forget a thing now and again at our age." He smiled to himself at how easily Nana had taken Mrs. Nola into her heart and into the family. Hearing her call her what he  _ believed _ was the word for sister (he really needed to study his languages more) made his inner omega happy.

"No worries, Mrs. Nola. Looks like we've got diaries from when he was about thirteen 'til he died, with about," he did a quick calculation looking around, "four or five diaries a year. We have a lot of reading to do." He tagged and boxed each diary by year so that he could sign them out to his home office. If they were going to spend hours reading the ramblings of an insane alpha, he wanted to be home. It took an hour or so to get all the paperwork in order as well as pack all the diaries back up so they could be sent over to the house. 

 

During that time Dean made his report to Commissioner Shurley, scheduled an appointment with Donna for Monday (even though he would see her at Rowena's party the next day at his house), and talked Nana into dealing with the vending machines for him. By the time everything was ready and he was in his car with Jo next to him, he was so ready to get the fuck outta Central. Normally he was in his element there, surrounded by cops and his peeps but today all he wanted was to be home and he really wished Cas was gonna be there. Dean almost,  _ almost _ , called his mate as he drove home, but he did have to apologize for snapping at Jo for no reason several times.

"You alright, Loo?" He heard the worry in her voice without an ounce of irritation. If it had been him, he'd have been the opposite.

"Yeah, no. I don't know. Sorry." When it looked like she was going to say more, he turned on the radio and blared some Queen until he squealed his tires turning into his driveway. He just  _ knew  _ Crowley was gonna chew his ass out about the skid marks he made. Right now he just didn't care.

Dean took some time for himself to change into some dark-blue, soft, flannel pants with a long-sleeved, matching henley, because he needed comfort, damnit. Then he spent the next twenty-five minutes sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed holding his cats, and taking comfort in their purrs, head butts, and demands for belly rubs. This... _ this  _ is what he needed. Now if only there was a certain tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed alpha here, well,  _ then  _ it'd be perfection.

 

Looking around the room that Crowley and Cas had set up (seriously, he really needed to one day visit every room in his _own_ _home_ ), Dean saw everyone lost in a diary. Charlie was sitting next to Jo (playing footsie under the table he was sure), sipping on the super-sugary energy drink she lived on, while Jo was drinking coffee as she kept physical contact with her alpha. Jo was a strong omega, no doubt, but even Dean would want contact with his alpha reading the crap that Remo spewed out in these books. Luckily, Cas was now sitting next to him working on his laptop, keeping up with his own work. After feeling Dean's sorrow come through their bond, he had hurried home to be close. Sappy freaking alpha. Thank all the Goddesses.

He startled when Nana reached around his shoulder to refill his coffee mug and placed a kiss on his temple. She and Mrs. Nola had felt a bit helpless not being able to read or handle the evidence, so they decided to put themselves in charge of the refreshments that Crowley and Daideo made. The older omegas poured the coffee, tea, or energy drinks, brought the snacks over from the Auto-Chef and when nothing was needed, they sat in the corner working on a jigsaw puzzle. Dean gave her a quiet thank you before he began entering his notes on the last chapter that he read; the final chapter of the diary of Remo's high school years. 

He could admit that the alpha had a rough time of it for sure (but not rough enough for the fucking shit that was going on now, but enough that Dean could see where he was fucked in the head). From what he had read so far, his own reading and the notes of the others, Remo had issues from the time he presented. It seemed to him like it might have been some type of chemical imbalance, but instead of getting their son help, his parents chose to ignore any problems. Obviously, it was a significant mistake. He could feel in Remo's words that Mrs. Nola tried to help him, and in several instances, Dean deduced she had even managed to save an animal and maybe even another child in her care from some type of harm from Remo. In the end though, it was becoming evident that Remo's imbalance was something that he embraced, especially after meeting Zach, the alpha that would become his mate.

"Darling Dean?" He felt more than heard Cas whisper in his ear, causing him to turn to see those brilliant, blue eyes gazing into his.

"Yeah, Cas?" Glancing around, he was pretty sure that no one heard the endearment that had slipped from his alpha's lips.

"May I have a moment?" Dean watched as Cas tilted his head toward the door that led (he sighed)...some fucking where.

"Sure." He called out, "Take fifteen everyone. I'll be back." As he walked past the puzzle table, he asked, "Nana, will you ask Crowley to send up the next round of food in twenty?" He paused to pick up a piece to put it in its place, which earned him a smack on the rear from both of the elder omegas.

Dean smiled at his alpha who held the door open for him and was surprised when he walked into Cas' old-fashioned library. Dean loved this room but he had no idea that the mini conference room was connected to it, go figure. He walked over to the long, dark, leather sofa then fell back to flop on it and heard his spine pop from bottom to top. Fuck, that felt good but what felt even better was when his mate lay down on top of him, trapping Dean with his body. 

"Heya, Cas." He kissed the tip of the alpha's nose and smiled at him.

 

"Hello, Dean." He giggled a bit when Cas kissed and gently bit him on his chin.

"What can I do for you?" He wiggled his eyebrows at the alpha, knowing that he was using his flirting to help them both release a bit of the stress of the day.

"Can't I just want a few minutes alone with my mate?" He knew Cas was playing him, because he knew everything about the man.

"You could, sure, but that's not what this is. So, what's up?" He tried to take a discreet sniff of Cas' scent, but dammit if his mate wasn't a master at controlling it.

"You're correct. Missouri just messaged me and there's a problem with the shuttle on which Sam is returning." Dean felt his stomach drop, his heart began to race and at the same time, Cas wrapped him tightly in his arms. Dean took a deep breath and he was finally able to determine his mate's scent. It was just as terrified as the one that was oozing from his own pores. 

Sammy, fuck...Gabe.

  
  
  
  



	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> QueenMaire, I love you more than Dean loves Cas. You worked your ass off on this chapter n I'm so very grateful... 💙💚

 

It had taken close to forty-eight hours of phone calls, people flying all over creation tracking down clues, and Dean losing his voice from screaming--as well as begging--before they had any information on the missing shuttle containing his brother (and thirty-six other passengers). 

After Cas had first informed him that the shuttle had gone missing (and how the  _ fuck _ did a shuttle just  _ go missing _ from inter-planet travel, he'd really like to know), the first thing Dean did was call his contact and friend Lieutenant Commander Savanna Medley. They had met when they were both beat cops, just after he had met Bobby, and had slowly become friends. They started having a few beers after a shift, commiserating over the 'old boys' club that the force was, and probably always would be. As they got to know each other, he taught her about stuff like good music from the past (just as he had to do with his mate), and she taught him that jeans were comfy even if they weren't full of holes (it wasn't that he didn't know that they looked  _ better  _ it's just that he really didn't care and he wouldn't still if it weren't for Cas or the fact that his brother was a designer). Who knew?

Brother, damn. Dean has only  _ had _ his brother for a few years. He remembered how floored he had been when it was confirmed that Sammy was, in fact, his  _ little _ brother. It had taken Cas,  _ Cas _ , a full day at the unregistered to find the whole story. Dean hadn't remembered anything from before Alistair, and when Gabriel had come home from fashion week saying that his new mate smelled like he was related to his "Deanie-Beanie," Cas, being the overprotective alpha that he was, began investigating. He had smelled the familial bond, too.

So Cas found out the whole story. John Winchester was a special breed of animal, a real asshole. It was documented that he had abused his mate, Mary Campbell, from the time they had mated until the day that he killed her. Someone had heard a rumor that John had been bragging that he was going to sell his omega brat as soon as he was old enough, but something (they guessed it was a gambling debt to some real bad dudes) had sped up his agenda. The accident that had put Mary into early labor with Sam, and Dean in the hospital for the day, had been attributed to John's drunk driving. Apparently, while Mary had been giving birth, John had given his son to Alistair. When Mary asked for him the next day, he told her Dean had died, and then forced her to sneak out of the hospital with Sam, telling her that the cops were after him and they couldn't afford the hospital bill. 

Next, Cas found that Mary had showed up at her father's farm a few months later with the infant. Her mother was so shocked at her appearance that she tried to get her to stay, but she said she had to get back. Mary was so afraid that John would hurt the baby that she left little Sammy with them. She had promised she would be back soon for good, telling her mother that she had a plan and that she was going to make sure that the authorities had everything they needed to put John away for life, but she never came back. It was the police that visited them a month later, and told them that their daughter was dead and asked if they knew the whereabouts of John Winchester. They also advised the elder couple that if John knew where they lived, they might want to consider relocating, to keep the baby and themselves safe. They left their farm behind an hour later with only what they could pack into an old Winnebago camper, never knowing that Dean existed. 

 

While Dean had been reminiscing (and worrying), he had been sitting in the corner of his mate's closet (he loved how his alpha scent surrounded him here) with his warm, purring kitties, waiting for him to come home. He wanted to be in their nest, but he just couldn't right now because they didn't smell comforting, only clean. Nana had helped him change all of the bedding this morning, after they had gotten word from Cas that he would be bringing Sammy home tonight (the other passengers were also going home to their loved ones), removing the "depressed omega" scent that he and Gabe had left all over the others.

Gabe...fuck, that had been the hardest thing ever when he had to tell him that Sam was missing. The pregnant omega's hand went immediately to his belly with a quiet gasp. Eyes filling with tears that never fell as he looked from Dean to Cas and back again before he quietly spoke, "I know that you will bring my Sam back to me and our babies. I have faith." Dean had never,  _ ever _ seen Gabe so calm, it was frightening. There were no hysterics, no dramatics, just, finally, a few tears when they were alone together in the bed that night. During the day he would help man the phones, but was good about resting and letting others pamper him. Nana, Mrs. Nola, and Crowley made sure that he was taken care of so that Dean could do his job and find Sammy. Once he did (well, he, Cas, and Savanna--he definitely needed to send her some of her fave champaign) found 'the lead,' Cas flew off-planet to go head the rescue.

So Dean was here in his mate's closet, cuddling his fur babies and looking through the photos that Sammy had given him when they discovered they were brothers. He had a small album of pictures of the Campbell family, including his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins along with Sammy as he grew from an infant into the gigantic dork that he was now. There were special photos, though, he kept in his wallet, to have with him everyday. There was one of Sam when he was just starting school. The short, little (not for long!) alpha was standing between their grandparents with his face completely taken over by a huge smile. Dean had only witnessed that smile on his brother's face a few times since they've known each other and it looked exactly the same. He fucking loved it. The second photo was of their mom when she was a young omega, a year or so before she had the unfortunate fate of meeting John Winchester. 

The Campbells eventually learned, during the short visit when Mary had dropped baby Sammy off, that John was  _ not _ her Truemate, but that he had mated her during a rape. In the years that she had been gone, they had of course worried, but they believed (due to the letters she snuck to them) that she lived on the road with her Truemate because he drove a semi-truck. She never let on that her life was a series of beatings and a life of crime as they stayed one step in front of the law and the bad men that John had double-crossed. 

It truly broke Dean's heart to see her innocent, happy face and how much he looked like her. He had thrown himself into such a bad funk that Cas had whisked him away for a week after Sammy gave him the pictures. A few days later it was so bad that his alpha flew Donna and her mate to them for some intense therapy for Dean. First thing she did was sedate his crying ass when Cas tattled (pushy, worried alpha), that he hadn't slept in days and was barely eating. After sleeping for almost eighteen hours he woke up  _ starving _ to find Crowley serving him and Cas breakfast in bed. After a good...okay, a  _ delicious _ meal, hot shower and some good sex with his alpha, Dean was ready to sit down with Donna and a pitcher of strawberry margaritas. She helped him as she always did, while Cas and Liam fished off the pier close by (like his alpha would go too far away..pfft). He sighed, thinking about the fact that Donna also hadn't been too far away the last few hours, making sure she was around if things hadn't ended well. 

Dean pulled one more picture from his wallet, leaving only a small wedding photo inside. He gently kissed Cas' happy, wedding face and hoped the alpha could feel the love before looking at the photo in his palm. They had taken it the day they had officially learned the truth: that Sam and Dean shared blood. Cas had taken them to his favorite pizza joint (the one they got engaged in before the sappy alpha bought the place) and after sharing a few bottles of wine over a few pizza pies, they had asked the waiter to take a picture of the four of them, their family.

 

"There you are, Bestie." Dean looked up to see Gabe walking into the closet, a beer in one hand and a milkshake in the other. "Here, obvs this is for you. Willy and Wynona wanted pineapple and peanut butter with butter pecan ice cream." Oh, just eww. He put away his pictures and took the offered bottle.

"Gabe, first," he pointed at the vile concoction, "that's just nasty and will you quit with the oddball names already?" He winked at his best friend so he'd know he was joking...not really, but the  _ pregnant and hormonal _ omega had been through enough lately. He didn't want to deal with any more crying.

"Eh, the belly wants what it wants. Charlie said the shuttle should be landing in about thirty minutes then they'll be debriefed, but since...ya' know, it's  _ you... _ Cas and Sam will be debriefed by Bobby once they get here. So, about forty-five minutes." Dean nodded as he held his arm up for Gabe to snuggle into his side. They'd spend the time waiting here in the closet. It was quiet, with only a gentle purr from the kitten now newly snuggled on Gabe's lap. Furballs were perfect omega therapy.

Dean lasted for about a half an hour before he dragged Gabe into the bedroom to check out what Crowley had loaded into the Auto-Chef for dinner. Gabe had informed him that the plan was for the others to greet Cas and Sam, but then to give the couples their privacy. First thing he noticed on his way past the sitting area was the addition of the small table that was set for four, candles and everything. He left Gabe to smell the flowers of the centerpiece and continued on to the Auto-Chef. His babies followed closely behind, meowing loudly for treats since they obviously knew where he was going. Dean knew what his priorities were (and he valued his shoelaces, sneaky brats), so he programmed the salmon flavored, fish-shaped treats and handed them out. Once that was done, he flipped through the screen discovering how busy Crowley (along with Nana and Mrs. Nola, he was sure) had been. Steaks, baked potatoes, salads, pastas, shrimp cocktail, lobster ravioli, stuffed mushrooms, glazed carrots, and so many desserts. Holy batcrap! Looked like he was gonna have to double up on his work outs for the next week, but he'd gladly do it. He made sure that there was wine chilling along with some sparkling cider before heading back into the bedroom. 

"Whatcha watching?" He plopped down on the couch next to Gabe who was watching the screen.

"Look." He looked up quickly hearing the break in the other omega's voice to see his alpha and his brother being led through a crowd by the cops of his division. They were walking them from a van into Central and Dean was sure that after their debriefing they would go through to the basement and get into different vehicles, ones that looked like all the others. It made it easier for the cops to run interference and lose the reporters that were trying for a story. 

Commissioner Shurley had already informed him that he would be giving their friend, Piper, an exclusive once Cas and Sammy were home, and if they wanted to wait to talk to her the next day for their POV, that was fine. Dean knew he would, and had told her so earlier when word came that they were safe, since she had been sitting next to him at the time. It continued to amaze him that so many friends were there for support. 

Once Cas and his brother were safely inside the building, he watched his friend motion to her cameraman and they walked around to the side of the building where Dean knew a cop was waiting to let her in. She would probably shuffle her way (how else could she walk in those damn eight-inch heels?) over to the guys to hug them and get some pics, before heading up to see the commissioner and get her exclusive started.

"I'm gonna jump in the shower real quick. I won't be five minutes. Just wanna wash off the last of the "sad omega'' smell. You alright here?" He poked Gabe in the arm to get his attention from the screen where Sam was no longer visible.

"Yeah, go ahead, Weanie-woo. I'm gonna cuddle with the littles here after I get the fire going. I wanna..." Dean stopped walking when Gabe trailed off. He turned to see him twisting his fingers in nerves.

"Spit it out, dude." Dean sat back down and picked his beer back up to finish it.

"I think, well...okay. I  _ know _ that we both need time with our mates, but I  _ know _ we all need time  _ together _ ...so I want to puppy pile tonight...alright?" Dean almost wanted to give his bestie a hard time, but besides not wanting to upset him since he was carrying his future nieces/nephews, Dean thought the idea of a puppy pile with the four of them was exactly was his soul needed too.

"Pfft...abso-fucking-lutely, dude!" He walked into the bathroom wiping what he would never admit was a tear from his eyes at the thought of being surrounded by his family in his nest.

 

Dinner was amazing. From the time Cas came through the bedroom door they had never stopped touching, somehow. Gabe had run into Sammy's arms, jumping up as far as the belly would let him and Sammy picked him up gently before sitting down to hold him while they both cried. Dean walked up to his mate and let his eyes track every inch of his body to make sure there was no hurts, no damage, before he wrapped his arms around the alpha's neck and buried his face there. Feeling Cas' arms go around him and holding him so tight brought out a sob that he had been holding in for days. He couldn't understand the words his mate was whispering in his ear in Irish, but they were a balm to his nerves. 

So, yeah, dinner was marvelous. They took turns feeding each other. Sammy told his story. Gabe kept them laughing, talking about his cravings and odd dreams (no way was Dean ever gonna be on a stage singing "Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles), and even odder name ideas for the twins. Cas just kept touching Dean. 

Finally, Dean asked the question that had been bugging him throughout Sammy's story. Apparently there had been a man on the shuttle who had stolen a lot of money from some people and they were after him. The hijacking had nothing to do with Sammy at all. The only thing that Dean wondered about was...where the hell were Cas and Sammy's wrist communicators?

"Well, Darling Dean. Right as we were in Central speaking to Chuck, Sam and I both had voicemail messages, with no actual calls coming through. They were exactly the same. A robotic voice said that this had nothing to do with you  _ this _ time, but that you should begin to think about keeping a good watch over you and yours." 

Dean began to shake with anger. "What the fuck?" When he went to get up from the table, Cas held on to his hand, keeping him still.

"Omega, please. Bobby is working on it in my office here. My  _ private  _ office if you understand me." Oh, crap! Dean sure as fuck understood that Bobby was in the office with the unregistered computers and, come to think of it, probably having the time of his life.

"Go on, Alpha." He squeezed his mate's hand in reassurance that he was listening.

"Sam and I are ready to collapse. We need rest, and we need time with our mates." When Cas trailed off Dean told him of the puppy pile and was relieved to see the huge smiles on his and Sammy's faces.

"Perfection. We will all be rested up for our day of pampering tomorrow." Dean sat still while the others got up and began to get ready to climb into the bed. Sammy and Gabe headed into the bathroom where Gabe had stashed their pajamas earlier and Cas headed into his closet. 

Dean was still in his chair when his mate came back out in soft flannel pants and a matching blue t-shirt.

"Omega?" Dean felt Cas run his fingers through his hair and he would have purred if he wasn't having a silent hissy fit.

" _ She's  _ going to be here tomorrow," he hissed.

"Hm...yes. Rowena is arriving after lunch. Now, come on, Darling, I need to lay down with you." Regardless of his feelings on the torture he would face tomorrow and the leads they had to follow, right now he needed to lay down with his alpha, too.

  
  



End file.
